Central American nation offers closer cooperation on migration and security while seeking to ease U.S. fears about Chinese influence over the Panama Canal.

After President Donald Trump’s pledge to regain control of the Panama Canal, lawmakers in Congress are taking a closer look at the key shipping channel.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to head to Panama soon for his first international trip as the nation’s top diplomat, Fox News has learned.

Speaking at a Senate Committee hearing on the Panama Canal and its impact on U.S. trade and national security, George Mason University professor Eugene Kontorovich said that when U.S. President Jimmy Carter agreed to hand over the canal to Panama in 1977, there was an understanding that the waterway would remain permanently neutral.

CSIS Americas Program director Ryan C. Berg and Andrew Sanders make the case for increased U.S. engagement with Panama to mitigate strategic vulnerabilities presented by insecurity, irregular migration,

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make his first official trip abroad next week to Central America, including a stop in Panama, which President Donald Trump has riled with talk of trying to reclaim the Panama Canal.

Republicans hoping to thwart Beijing’s influence in Latin America are urging the Panamanian government to cut ties with Chinese entities.

China's expanding footprint in Latin America is expected to be high on the agenda when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits Panama next week on his first overseas trip since taking office, according to observers.

Donald Crisp left a legacy in Bay County. Raised in Marianna, Crisp moved to Panama City in the early 1970’s. He got involved in community service with the Panama City Jaycees. Crisp founded the Bay County Land and Abstract title company and was involved in thousands of land transactions.

The head of the Federal Maritime Commission will tell a U.S. Senate committee that the United States has options to address the growing presence of China and Chinese firms in Panama.

The president’s confrontational foreign policy has created opportunity for his allies on K Street who are willing to take on clients he has targeted.