At a mere 51 miles long, the Panama Canal may seem small, but it's mighty, linking together the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for more than 110 years now.
While the U.S. financed construction of the canal, a treaty signed in 1977 gave Panama control of the canal starting in the year 2000, on the condition that the canal would remain neutral.
However, President Trump thinks that neutrality has been violated. In recent remarks this month to a gathering of House Republicans in Miami, he said the U.S. should try to "take back control" of the canal, claiming it is being run by China.
"It's become a hot subject because China essentially has taken it over, and we're not going to let that happen," President Trump said. "We're not going to let that happen."
During a Senate Commerce hearing in late January on the Panama Canal, Republican Senators echoed those sentiments.
"President Trump has highlighted two key issue," said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. "Number one: the danger of China exploiting or blocking passage through the canal. And number two: the exorbitant costs for transit."
Panama's president, though, said it is his country that controls the canal.
"The Panama Canal belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama," said José Raul Mulino, president of Panama.
With that backdrop, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will head to Panama - one of five stops in the Western hemisphere - during his first trip overseas.
"This is not a joke," Sec. Rubio said during his confirmation hearing in January. "The Panama Canal issue is very serious."
During his confirmation hearing, Rubio also expressed concern over China's influence around the canal.
"Chinese companies control port facilities at both ends of the canal," Rubio said. "The concern, some military and security officials, including in Panama at that point, that could one day be used as a choke point to impede commerce in a moment of conflict."
Chris Hernandez-Roy is deputy director of The Americas Programat the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He said the canal will almost certainly come up during Rubio's visit to Panama.
"The issue is going to come up because it's on the top of the President's mind and his Secretary of State has to communicate the president's desires and concerns," Hernandez-Roy said. "It will come up also from the Panamanian side, who would like to have some clarity as to what 'taking it back' means."
Hernandez-Roy said that, years ago, the traditional first trip of a U.S. Secretary of State would be to Canada.
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However, Sec. Rubio — who is Cuban-American and speaks fluent Spanish — may be leading a shift in how the U.S. engages with Latin America.
"I've been working on Latin American affairs for almost three decades now, and I can't tell you the many, many, many, many times over the years that various officials in Latin America have lamented the fact that the United States just doesn't pay enough attention to the region," Hernandez-Roy said. "Well, I think now they're going to get what they've long asked for, which will certainly have some positive benefits for them, but also will create some challenges."
In addition to Panama, Sec. Rubio will be heading to four other countries in the hemisphere: Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
Immigration is a topic that is expected to be discussed during some of the stops, but so will economic issues.
China is making major inroads in Latin America, by investing in things like infrastructure projects. Experts say that, in order to counter that, the U.S. needs to offer some of those countries an alternative.
