ISTANBUL 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic from Feb. 1 to 6 to advance regional cooperation, the State Department announced on Friday.

“Secretary Rubio’s engagements with senior officials and business leaders will promote regional cooperation on our core, shared interests: stopping illegal and large-scale migration, fighting the scourge of transnational criminal organizations and drug traffickers, countering China, and deepening economic partnerships to enhance prosperity in our hemisphere,” spokesman Tammy Bruce said.

Mauricio Claver-Carone, the US special envoy for Latin America, highlighted the significance of the trip, noting: “This is the first time that the secretary of state's first visit to anywhere in the world is to Latin America, for the first time in over a hundred years.”

Rubio’s trip begins in Panama, where he will meet with President Mulino and visit the Panama Canal. The visit comes amid tensions following President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about reclaiming the canal, which sparked a backlash over sovereignty concerns.

The secretary will then travel to El Salvador to meet President Nayib Bukele, followed by Costa Rica for talks with President Rodrigo Chaves. In Guatemala, Rubio will meet President Bernardo Arevalo, and the trip will conclude in the Dominican Republic with discussions with President Luis Abinader.

Claver-Carone emphasized the importance of these nations as US allies, stating: “These are all overall allies of the United States, obviously where we seek to deepen and strengthen cooperation in all of these.”