Despite his sterling record as Secretary of State, Adams also proved less than successful at foreign policy as his old rival, British Foreign Secretary George Canning, played a cat-and-mouse game with him. Ever since the Treaty of Paris 42 years earlier, Britain had barred American merchantmen from visiting its islands in the West Indies, although smugglers frequently evaded this ban. When Adams demanded that London open the islands to trade with the US, Canning rejected his request. Another fiasco for the president occurred when the newly independent Latin American republics held a congress in Panama. Adams requested permission and funding from Congress to send two delegates. Some Congressmen worried about the US becoming involved in foreign entanglements, while Southerners, sensitive to racial issues, disliked the idea of granting recognition and equal status to the "black" and "mixed" Latin American states. Although Adams was ultimately successful in getting approval, one of the two delegates died en route to Panama and the Panama Congress ultimately accomplished little of value.