US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make his first international trip since taking office on Saturday, visiting five Central American countries – a first in more than a century for a top American diplomat’s inaugural tour – as Washington moves to counter China’s deepening influence in the region.
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Rubio will travel through Thursday to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic and meet senior officials and business leaders to “promote regional cooperation”, according to the State Department.
Rubio would also discuss “shared interests” like curbing irregular migration, transnational crime, “countering China and deepening economic partnerships to enhance prosperity in our hemisphere”, it added.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters on Friday that the choice of destinations may raise eyebrows, given Washington “tends to look” to Europe and Asia.
In explaining Rubio’s renewed focus on the region, Bruce cited the impact of decisions made by countries in the Americas on US domestic politics.
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