WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to travel to Panama as part of a trip to Latin America as soon as next week, a person familiar with the matter said, underscoring President Donald Trump’s seriousness about taking back the Panama Canal.

Rubio also plans to visit Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.

The State Department’s press office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The trip is expected to be Rubio’s first since he was sworn in as the top U.S. diplomat on Tuesday. It underscores Trump’s focus on stopping undocumented migration that runs through Central America and deporting people back to their home countries.

Normally the first trip by the head of the State Department is to a geopolitically important U.S. ally, with predecessors Antony Blinken going to Japan and Rex Tillerson to Germany.

Rubio also will visit the Dominican Republic, set to host a hemispheric summit later this year that’s normally attended by the U.S. president.

The trip was first reported by Politico.

Trump has called for the U.S. to retake control of the Panama Canal unless the cost of passage for naval and merchant ships is slashed. He also falsely accusing China of operating the waterway. Panama President José Raúl Mulino has been quick to affirm Panama’s sovereignty over the canal and deny any Chinese involvement in its operations.

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(With assistance from Courtney McBride.)

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