Key Trump Ambassadorial Picks Positioned to Counter CCP Adventurism

Panama's Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha (L) and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wave on arrival for a meeting with Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino at the presidential palace in Panama City on Feb. 2, 2025. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

U.S. ambassadors are the personal representatives of the U.S. president. There is usually a direct relationship between an ambassador’s effectiveness and the host country’s decisions to either align with the United States or accept the offers of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Belt and Road largesse.

Under the new administration, President Donald Trump made it clear in his first Davos speech—and Secretary of State Marco Rubio forcefully amplified—that American diplomacy would be very different under his leadership, starting with the ambassadors named by the president.

Herschel Walker to the Bahamas

To apply immediate America First impact in the Bahamas through a well-known personality, Trump picked Herschel Walker to be the first U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas since November 2011. This gap in ambassadors is unfortunate and has, in many ways, allowed the growth of CCP influence in the Bahamas. Walker is well known as a Heisman Trophy winner, football star, mixed martial arts fighter, and several other noteworthy accolades.

The United States had for years done little to address the rampage of BRI programs in the Bahamas, 50 miles to the right of Miami, Florida. The same company that operates ports in Panama now controls the main port in the Bahamas. Hutchison Port Holdings, a subsidiary of Beijing-affiliated Hutchison Whampoa, owns and operates the Freeport Container Port in the Bahamas, according to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Huawei, the Chinese tech giant that carries out the CCP’s civil-military fusion strategy, dominates in the Bahamas and, in December 2024, sponsored a Cyber Bootcamp event with the Chinese Embassy. The Bahamas hosts a critical and sensitive U.S. submarine facility, which has no alternative but to use the Huawei infrastructure to transmit communications through the Huawei-maintained undersea cable to Miami. It’s not the best idea for sensitive communications.

Kevin Cabrera to Panama 

One of Trump’s first announcements was the appointment of Kevin Marino Cabrera as the U.S. ambassador to Panama. There are serious concerns regarding Chinese influence in Panama and the Panama Canal.

Trump wrote in a Dec. 25 post on social media Truth Social: “I am pleased to announce that Kevin Marino Cabrera will serve as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Panama, a Country that is ripping us off on the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams.

“Few understand Latin American politics as well as Kevin — He will do a FANTASTIC job representing our Nation’s interests in Panama!”

Trump’s energy and focus on addressing issues in the Americas is quite evident, as demonstrated by his attention to Panama and the quick imposition of severe sanctions and penalties on Colombia for rejecting American military flights during the initial waves of deportations. However, a trade war between the United States and Colombia was avoided when the Colombian government agreed to allow U.S. military flights carrying deported illegal immigrants to land in the Andean country.

With this kind of direct interest from Trump, Cabrera will have ample White House support for Panama, its canal, and the United States.

South Korea Vacancy

One of the most urgent issues is South Korea, one of the closest U.S. treaty allies and trading partners. South Korea is currently in a state of crisis as the left-leaning Democratic Party of Korea aggressively seeks to criminally prosecute President Yoon Suk Yeol of the populist People Power Party.

One of Secretary of State Rubio’s first calls was to South Korea on Jan. 22. The official readout on the call didn’t address the large-scale civil unrest in Seoul but said, “Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul. They discussed advancing U.S.–ROK cooperation to address common challenges in the Indo–Pacific region,” referring to South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

“Secretary Rubio stressed that the U.S.–ROK Alliance stands as the linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and across the Indo-Pacific. The two also underscored the critical importance of furthering trilateral cooperation among the United States, Japan, and the ROK.”

A new U.S. ambassador to South Korea has not yet been announced, but it should happen soon. The figure will possibly be a trusted, retired military leader or a well-known person of stature who has the gravitas to immediately start applying a clear U.S. policy position to help calm matters in South Korea.

Support for the People Power Party and the ousted president is eclipsing the Democrat Party of Korea, according to a recent poll. South Korea will likely be one of the first major crisis tests of the Trump ambassadorial corps.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.