Since the United States and Colombia established official diplomatic relationships in 1822, only seven U.S. presidents have visited Colombia. Colombia had to wait more than a century after gaining independence to see a U.S. head of state visiting the country and half of all subsequent presidential visits occurred in the 21st century.
The US Presidents who have visited Colombia
Franklin D. Roosevelt
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) was the first U.S. president to visit Colombia. The 32nd president of the U.S. made an informal stop in the “Land of Beauty” on July 10, 1934, early in his presidency, while en route to Hawaii. Roosevelt arrived in the historic city of Cartagena de Indias, where he was received with full honors by Colombian President Enrique Olaya Herrera (1930–1934).
During his visit, Roosevelt attended a ceremonial luncheon held in his honor at the city’s iconic Club de La Popa.
John F. Kennedy
President John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) made the first working visit by a U.S. president to Colombia on December 17, 1961, during his first year in office. He was welcomed to Bogota by Colombian President Alberto Lleras Camargo (1945–1946 and 1958–1962).
The visit took place against the backdrop of the Cold War and the rise of socialist and communist political and armed movements across Latin America. To counter this ideological threat, Kennedy launched the Alliance for Progress, a program aimed at providing financial support to like-minded countries in the region.
While in Bogota, Kennedy attended the inauguration of an affordable housing complex in the southwest of the city. Following his assassination less than two years later, the neighborhood was renamed Ciudad Kennedy in his honor. Today, it remains one of Bogota’s most significant and populous districts.
Ronald Reagan
President Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) visited Colombia on December 3, 1982, as part of an official state visit. During his time in Bogota, he met with Colombian President Belisario Betancur (1982–1986). The visit was part of a broader diplomatic tour of Latin America, which also included stops in Brazil, Costa Rica, and Honduras.
A key focus of the visit was to offer U.S. support to Colombia in its fight against far-left guerrillas and the increasingly powerful Medellin and Cali cartels, which were flooding the U.S. with cocaine. However, President Betancur sought to shift the discussions with Reagan toward Colombia’s economic and debt crisis, advocating for a new emergency plan for Latin America.
Reagan’s visit marked a turning point in U.S.-Colombia relations. After his visit, presidential trips to Colombia became more frequent, reflecting the growing strategic importance of the bilateral relationship.
George H.W. Bush
President George H.W. Bush (1989–1993) visited Colombia on February 15, 1990, to attend the Summit Meeting on the Control of Illicit Drug Trafficking in Cartagena de Indias. The summit aimed to strengthen international efforts to address the growing global drug trade.
The summit culminated in the signing of the Cartagena Declaration by the U.S., Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. Dubbed the “first anti-drug cartel” by President Bush, the declaration sought to mitigate the short- and long-term socio-economic impacts of combating illicit drugs. It also included initiatives to sanction drug traffickers and disrupt their operations.
William J. Clinton
President Clinton (1993–2001) visited Colombia during his second term on August 30, 2000. This visit is considered one of the most significant ever made by a U.S. head of state to the country.
In June 2000, the U.S. Congress approved the implementation of Plan Colombia, a US$1.3 billion aid package aimed at supporting the Colombian government in its fight against guerrilla groups. Approximately 80% of the allocated aid was designated for Colombia’s security apparatus and state institutions.
Clinton’s visit took place as a follow-up to the launch of Plan Colombia, where he met with President Andrés Pastrana (1998–2002). This brief, symbolic visit reaffirmed U.S. commitment and involvement in ending the Colombian armed conflict.
After his presidency, Clinton visited Colombia several times, notably touring Medellin’s Comuna 13 and meeting Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
George W. Bush
President George W. Bush (2001–2009) visited Colombia twice during his presidency, on November 22, 2004, and March 11, 2007. His tenure marked an unprecedented level of bilateral cooperation between the U.S. and Colombia, and aligned closely with the term of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez (2002–2010), a conservative leader known for his zero-tolerance stance against Colombia’s far-left guerrilla groups.
Leveraging the Bush administration’s global war on terror, Uribe reframed Colombia’s armed conflict not as a civil war but as a fight against terrorism. This narrative, coupled with the guerrillas’ significant involvement in drug trafficking, enabled Uribe to secure U.S. support within the framework of both the war on terror and the global fight against drugs.
During both of his visits to Colombia, Bush met with Uribe in Bogota to discuss strategies for combating drug trafficking and guerrilla groups, further solidifying the strong alliance between the two nations.
Barack Obama
President Barack Obama (2009–2017) was the most recent U.S. president to visit Colombia. The 44th president visited Cartagena de Indias from April 13 to 15, 2012, to participate in the Summit of the Americas. This high-profile event brought together leaders from across the Western Hemisphere to discuss regional cooperation, economic integration, and shared challenges.
The main topics covered by the summit included the exclusion of Cuba, the potential legalization of drugs as a strategy to combat the drug trade, and Argentina’s sovereignty claims over the Falkland Islands.
In meetings with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (2010–2018), Obama discussed the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, security cooperation, and efforts to combat drug trafficking in the region.
Obama’s trip was marred by a scandal involving U.S. Secret Service agents, who were sent home due to allegations of misconduct related to prostitution while they were in Cartagena.