Latin America Gets Into Deal-Making Mode for Rubio’s Visit

As Secretary of State Marco Rubio begins his first overseas trip on Saturday in Panama, Central American countries are largely reeling under the weight of President Trump’s confrontational approach, including threats of military force to reclaim the Panama Canal and coercing nations into accepting military planes filled with deported migrants.

The visit comes during a tense period for the region, which has been grappling with the potential economic repercussions of Mr. Trump’s policies, like mass deportations and a halt in foreign aid.

“It’s every country for himself,” said Michael E. Shifter, the president of the Inter-American Dialogue research institute in Washington. U.S. leaders know “how fragmented the region is and how easy it is to pick them off,” he said. “And that’s what Trump does best.”

Despite several attempts to secure meetings with Mr. Trump’s team in the lead-up to his presidency, the region faced consistent rebuffs. Now, with Mr. Trump in office and treating Latin America as a critical focus — as noted in his Inaugural Address, in which he mentioned Panama six times while traditional foes like Iran and Russia were never raised — the stakes are high.

Mr. Rubio will land in Panama on Saturday, then move on to Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. Talks are expected to center on immigration, curbing China’s influence in the region and thwarting the flow of drugs, particularly fentanyl, into the United States.

Latin American nations want to maintain the status quo in their U.S. relations: keeping trade open, maintaining American investments — which Mr. Trump says he wants to bring home — and leaving the spigots of foreign assistance open. One of Mr. Rubio’s biggest requests will most likely be that these countries sign “safe third country” agreements, to accept asylum seekers from other nations that are seeking refuge in the United States.