Marco Rubio will head to Latin America again as Trump prioritizes immigration

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Mexico and Ecuador next week, making his fourth foreign trip in the Western Hemisphere since becoming President Donald Trump’s top diplomat in January.

Rubio, who has already traveled to Latin America and the Caribbean twice and to Canada this year, will return to the region to discuss Trump administration priorities, including stemming illegal migration, combating organized crime and drug cartels, and countering what the U.S. believes is malign Chinese behavior in its backyard.

Rubio’s “fourth trip to our hemisphere demonstrates the United States’ unwavering commitment to protect its borders, neutralize narco-terrorist threats to our homeland, and ensure a level playing field for American businesses,” the State Department said Thursday.

Rubio’s first foreign trip as secretary of state was to Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, during which he assailed Chinese influence over the Panama Canal and sealed deals with the others to accept immigrant deportees from the United States. The agreement with El Salvador, which could include deporting U.S. citizens, is still being contested in federal courts.

Rubio later traveled to Jamaica, Guyana and Suriname.

A senior State Department official said virtually every country in Latin America is now accepting the return of their nationals being deported from the U.S. and, with the exception of Nicaragua, most have stepped up their actions against drug cartels, many of which have been designated foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview details about what will be private diplomatic conversations, also said progress has been made in countering China in the Western Hemisphere, including steps taken by Panama to reclaim control of canal port facilities by Chinese companies and removing itself from China’s Belt and Road development initiative.

The official said Ecuador is starting to try to extricate itself from the Belt and Road scheme but is already saddled by what he termed “predatory” debt to China.

Rubio will be in Mexico City and Quito from Tuesday to Thursday, the State Department said.