By Simon Lewis and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) -When Marco Rubio arrives in Latin America this weekend on his first foreign trip as Donald Trump's secretary of state, he'll find a region reeling from the new administration's shock-and-awe approach to diplomacy.

While repeating Trump’s lies about Panama, Senate leaders from both parties provide fraudulent justifications for a military intervention against the impoverished Central American country.

The new administration's immigration crackdown is likely to be among the top issues during talks, but US President Donald Trump's claim that the Central American nation had ceded control of the Panama Canal to China will also loom large.

President Donald Trump’s insistence that he wants to have the Panama Canal back under U.S. control is feeding nationalist sentiment and worry in Panama, home to the critical trade route and a country familiar with U.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday expressed alarm at China's influence on the Panama Canal, which President Donald Trump has vowed the United States would take back.

US senators heard sharply different analyses about Chinese influence over the Panama Canal on Wednesday, with some experts suggesting solutions ranging from enhanced trade partnerships to military intervention to regain control of the strategic waterway.

None are believed to have survived the Wednesday night collision, which caused both aircraft to plunge into the frigid Potomac River.

"Our job—where we can'is to provide Latin America with a choice," a U.K. government minister said on Thursday.

Traditionally, when US secretaries of state make their international debuts, they travel to major US allies and offer bromides about working together. Arevalo -- whose country is a major source of migrants -- has been quick to cooperate with Trump,

Three of President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks prepared for skepticism and intense grilling from Democratic senators during their confirmation hearings Thursday