us president has repeatedly threatened to retain control of the canal life in america. edison. lucy newman has more stern faces all around a secretary of state medical reveal arrived at panama as presidential palace with a message from us president donald trump. i will do told president course, if i only know that the quote influence and control of china is communist party, over the panama canal area, is a threat to the canal and represents a violation of the canals, neutrality, and operations. treaties who be left without making a public statement, leaving lena to try to call him his country's fears about the u. s. taking back the canal by force if necessary, as president trump has suggested. okay, we've got another issue because no doubt that the canal is and will continue to be operated by a country. i don't think that's a discrepancy that president trump has his opinion about the presence of china, which will be clarified by the canals, technical teams. but that wasn't sufficient for the secretary to reveal who spokes person quickly issued a statement. clarifying that in the absence of

i last in america. lucy newman, reports us secretary of state. my portfolio was ending his visit to the dominican republic when he received a public reprimand from the president of panama, where he started his 5 nation regional tour days earlier. an angry president for several mino said that it was intolerable that the us state department live by a noun. seeing that his country had agreed to waive fees for us naval ships, transiting the panama canal. you'll find them up on the death of a who stay before you in the world. i express my absolute rejection of continuing to conduct up bilateral relations on the basis of lies on falls. so it's at oxford . i mean, i'm not confused about panel. rubio insisted that it was absurd for the us to pay fees to transfer the pin. now it's applied to protect. yes and he offered in all of frank issues, but i respect very much. the fact the panama has a process of laws and procedures that they need to follow as it relates to the kind of a import, the primary and canal authorities will allow them to work through thos

visit, comes after trump threatened to take control of the panama canal, a latin america editor, lucy, and newman reports from taura point in panama. use secretary of state marco rubio has made panama his 1st destination on his 1st overseas trip. the washington central issue is china and the fear that it could control the u. s. built panama canal. secondly, the rubio says it's no joke. just retired general richardson such a little over the canal, looked down and saw those chinese port facilities and said those look like dual use facilities that in the moment of conflict could be weaponized against the chinese workers. first came to panama in the mid 18 hundreds, but their numbers and influence have expanded greatly in the last 3 decades, especially since panama cut ties with taiwan and recognized china 8 years ago. the pick a model was former military strong man, manuel unplug, you know, did as chief intelligence officer until they were both arrested during the us military invasion in 1989 to date demarco. the leads the us is right and have concerns that we are very familiar and see how many thou