Jose Raul Mulino said he won't discuss control of the canal during the secretary of state's visit. Rubio, in contrast, said "we're going to address that topic."

Mr Trump has refused to rule out military force to seize the Panama Canal, which the US handed over at the end of 1999, saying that China has exerted too much control through its investment in surrounding ports. In his inaugural address, Mr Trump said that the US will be “taking it back” – and he refused to back down on Jan 31.