Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino in Panama over the weekend, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a readout of their meeting.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met Panama's president on his first stop on his trip foreign trip as President Donald Trump is upping pressure on America's neighbors including a demand for the Panama Canal to be returned to the United States.

Panama’s president reiterated on Sunday that Panama’s sovereignty over the Panama Canal is not up for debate, saying that during talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he had addressed the United States’ concerns over China’s presence around the vital waterway.