Department of Research, Strategic Studies and International Relations 03-02-2025

According to Alexander Stepanov, during the talks, US Secretary of State Marco convinced Jose Raul Mulino that it is unadvisable to participate in Chinese integration projects

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Panama dealt a blow to Chinese interests in the region, said Alexander Stepanov, a senior researcher at the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

US President Donald Trump’s “southern offensive in the Western Hemisphere is developing at a fast pace. No sooner had the president’s Special Missions Envoy [Richard] Grenell returned from Caracas with probably quite successful results of the negotiations than there was a blow to key Chinese interests in the region: the regional projection of the global Belt and Road Initiative,” Stepanov told TASS in comments on Rubio’s visit to Panama.

According to the analyst, during the talks, Rubio convinced Jose Raul Mulino that it is unadvisable to participate in Chinese integration projects. The president of Panama said he won’t extend the memorandum of understanding with China on the Belt and Road Initiative. The analyst mentioned that from 2015 to 2019, China planned to invest in Panama about $250 billion directly and $500 billion through securities. These funds aimed to develop infrastructure projects in logistics and energy.

“Washington is used to acting on the commandment of Al Capone: You can do more with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word. Rubio steadfastly follows this logic as part of shepherding through the regional interests of the US,” Stepanov said.

The analyst mentioned that US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated his intention to restore US control over the Panama Canal as he complained that US naval and merchant ships pay too much for transit.

Panama’s position

Mulino described the meeting with Rubio as cordial and respectful and said that Panama’s sovereignty was out of the question. According to the Panamanian president, during the talks the two sides discussed the Chinese presence around the Panama Canal in much detail. Mulino said his government is currently conducting audits in ports near the canal that are managed by Chinese companies.

Trump, in his inauguration speech on January 20, announced his intention to take back the Panama Canal. He also said earlier that the transfer of control over the transport link in 1999 was a gesture of cooperation, but not a concession to other countries.

Mulino previously said that sovereignty over the canal and the country’s independence are not subject to negotiations. Politico reported on January 10 that the Panamanian leader could appeal to the UN Security Council if Trump did not stop piling pressure on his country about the canal’s ownership.