American leadership is back in the Western Hemisphere, and we’re ready to stand with our regional partners. Putting America First means paying closer attention to our own hemisphere.

My first international trip as Secretary of State reflects this. I am headed to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic, and focusing on mutual priorities will bolster stability, security, and prosperity at home and in our region.

As I wrote in my Wall Street Journal opinion piece , American foreign policy has too long focused on other regions while overlooking our own, missing opportunities and neglecting partners and friends. That ends now.

President Trump’s ambitious American foreign policy agenda begins close to home, with securing our borders. Diplomacy is essential to this effort. We need to work with countries across our region to stop further migrant flows and to repatriate all those who are in the United States illegally. These conversations may not always be easy, but they are necessary.

The President envisions a prosperous Western Hemisphere full of opportunities. We can strengthen trade ties, create partnerships to control migration, and enhance our hemisphere’s security.

El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic — the countries I will visit on this trip — all stand to benefit tremendously from greater cooperation with the United States. Covid exposed the fragility of America’s dependence on far-flung supply chains. Relocating our critical supply chains closer to the Western Hemisphere would both boost our neighbors’ economic growth and safeguard Americans’ own economic security.

Our goal is to create a virtuous cycle in these countries. Closer relationships with the U.S. lead to more jobs and growth, which reduces emigration incentives and provides governments with revenue to fight crime and invest in development at home. As our partners in the region build themselves up, they can more easily resist the influence of countries such as China who promise more than they deliver.

Mass migration has destabilized our entire region. Drug cartels — now correctly categorized as foreign terrorist organizations — are taking over our communities, sowing violence and poisoning our families with fentanyl. Illegitimate regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela are intentionally amplifying the chaos. All the while, the Chinese Communist Party uses diplomatic and economic leverage — such as at the Panama Canal — to oppose the United States.

Our approach to foreign policy is based on concrete shared interests, not vague platitudes or utopian ideologies. It represents the approach the State Department will take from now on. We will be willing to extend our hand to all nations of goodwill, in the confident expectation they will recognize what we can do together.

By making our partnerships safer, stronger and more prosperous, we all stand to benefit. That is one of my goals as Secretary of State. It is an extraordinary privilege to serve in this role, and I look forward to keeping you up to date on my work and that of the incredible State Department team, whom I'm so honored to lead.

Sincerely,

Secretary Marco Rubio