Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday ruled out discussing control over the Panama Canal in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is set to visit the Central American country in his first official trip abroad this weekend.

Newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing to "take back" the Panama Canal, the world's second busiest interoceanic waterway.

U.S. 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.