United States presidential visits to South America

The countries of South America and their capitals

Eleven United States presidents and one president-elect have made presidential visits to South America. The first trip was made by Herbert Hoover (as president-elect) in 1928. During this tour he delivered twenty-five speeches in ten Central and South American countries, almost all of which stressed his plans to reduce American political and military interference in Latin American affairs. In sum, he pledged that the United States would act as a "good neighbor."[1][2]

The first official visits by a sitting president were those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and were an offshoot of Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II. Of the 12 independent countries on the continent, all but Bolivia, Guyana and Paraguay have been visited by an American president. Ecuador has only been visited by a president elect.

## Table of visits

[edit]

President  | Dates  | Countries  | Locations  | Key details

|
|
|
|

Herbert Hoover[3] | December 1, 1928 |  Ecuador | Guayaquil | Met with President Isidro Ayora.[4]
December 5, 1928 |  Peru | Lima | Met with President Augusto B. Leguía.[4]
December 8–11, 1928 |  Chile | Antofagasta, Santiago | Met with President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo. Met with Bolivian diplomats to discuss the ongoing Tacna–Arica dispute.[4][5]
December 13–15, 1928 |  Argentina | Buenos Aires | Met with President Hipólito Yrigoyen.[6] Also reported to (U.S.) President Calvin Coolidge on the success of his tour via telegraph.[7]
December 16–18, 1928 |  Uruguay | Montevideo | Met with President Juan Campisteguy, and addressed the National Council of Administration.[4]
December 21–23, 1928 |  Brazil | Rio de Janeiro | Met with President Washington Luís; addressed the National Congress and the Supreme Federal Court.[8]
Franklin D. Roosevelt[9] | July 10, 1934 |  Colombia | Cartagena | Informal visit en route to vacation in Hawaii.
November 27, 1936 |  Brazil | Rio de Janeiro  | Addressed the National Congress of Brazil.
November 30 – December 2, 1936 |  Argentina | Buenos Aires  | Attended session of Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Peace.
December 3, 1936 |  Uruguay | Montevideo  | Official visit. Met with President Gabriel Terra.
January 12, 1943 |  Brazil | Belém | Overnight stop en route to Casablanca.
January 28, 1943 | Natal | Informal visit (following Casablanca Conference); met with President Getúlio Vargas.
Harry S. Truman[10] | September 1–7, 1947 | Rio de Janeiro  | State visit; addressed Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Continental Peace and Security and the Brazilian Congress.
Dwight D. Eisenhower[11] | February 23–26, 1960 | Brasília
Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo | Met with President Juscelino Kubitschek and addressed Brazilian Congress.
February 26–29, 1960 |  Argentina | Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata, San Carlos de Bariloche | Met with President Arturo Frondizi.
February 29 –
March 2, 1960 |  Chile | Santiago  | Met with President Jorge Alessandri.
March 2–3, 1960 |  Uruguay | Montevideo  | Met with President Benito Nardone.
John F. Kennedy[12] | December 16–17, 1961 |  Venezuela | Caracas | Met with President Rómulo Betancourt.
December 17, 1961 |  Colombia | Bogota | Met with President Alberto Lleras Camargo.
Lyndon B. Johnson[13] | April 11–14, 1967 |  Uruguay | Punta del Este | Summit Meeting with Latin American Heads of State.
April 14, 1967 |  Suriname | Paramaribo | Refuelling stop en route from Uruguay.
Jimmy Carter[14] | March 28–29, 1978 |  Venezuela | Caracas  | Met with President Carlos Andrés Pérez. Addressed Congress and signed maritime boundary agreement.
March 29–31, 1978 |  Brazil | Brasília, Rio de Janeiro  | Official visit; met with President Ernesto Geisel and addressed Brazilian Congress.
Ronald Reagan[15] | November 30 –
December 3, 1982 | Brasilia, São Paulo  | Official working visit; met with President João Figueiredo.
December 3, 1982 |  Colombia | Bogota  | Official Working Visit. Met with President Belisario Betancur.
George H. W. Bush[16] | February 15, 1990 | Cartagena  | Attended Summit Meeting on the control of illicit drug trafficking with President Virgilio Barco Vargas, Bolivian President Jaime Paz Zamora and Peruvian President Alan García.
December 3–4, 1990 |  Brazil | Brasilia  | Met with President Fernando Collor de Mello and addressed a Joint Session of the Brazilian Congress.
December 4–5, 1990 |  Uruguay | Montevideo  | Met with President Luis Alberto Lacalle. Addressed a Joint Session of the Uruguayan General Assembly.
December 5–6, 1990 |  Argentina | Buenos Aires  | Met with President Carlos Menem and addressed a Joint Session of the Argentine National Congress.
December 6–7, 1990 |  Chile | Santiago  | Met with President Patricio Aylwin and addressed a Joint Session of the Chilean National Congress.
December 7–8, 1990 |  Venezuela | Caracas  | Met with President Carlos Andrés Pérez.
June 12–13, 1992 |  Brazil | Rio de Janeiro  | Attended the Earth Summit meeting.
Bill Clinton[17] | October 12–13, 1997 |  Venezuela | Caracas  | Met with President Rafael Caldera.
October 13–15, 1997 |  Brazil | Brasilia, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro  | Met with President Fernando Henrique Cardoso; delivered several public addresses
October 15–18, 1997 |  Argentina | Buenos Aires, Bariloche | Met with President Menem; delivered several public addresses.
April 16–19, 1998 |  Chile | Santiago  | State visit. Attended the 2nd Summit of the Americas.
August 30, 1998 |  Colombia | Cartagena  | Met with President Andrés Pastrana Arango.
George W. Bush[18] | March 23–24, 2002 |  Peru | Lima  | Met with the Presidents of Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia, and with the Vice President of Ecuador.
November 19–22, 2004 |  Chile | Santiago  | Attended 16th APEC Summit.
November 22, 2004 |  Colombia | Cartagena  | Met with President Álvaro Uribe.
November 3–5, 2005 |  Argentina | Mar del Plata | Attended 4th Summit of the Americas.
November 5–6, 2005 |  Brazil | Brasilia  | Met with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
March 8–9, 2007 | São Paulo  | Met with President Lula da Silva.
March 9–11, 2007 |  Uruguay | Montevideo  | Met with President Tabaré Vázquez.
March 11, 2007 |  Colombia | Bogota  | Met with President Álvaro Uribe.
November 21–23, 2008 |  Peru | Lima  | Attended the APEC Summit Meeting.
Barack Obama | March 19–21, 2011 |  Brazil | Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro  | Met with President Dilma Rousseff.[19]
March 21–22, 2011 |  Chile | Santiago  | Met with President Sebastián Piñera.[19]
April 13–15, 2012 |  Colombia | Cartagena  | Attended the 6th Summit of the Americas.[19] Attended a leaders' dinner at the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas prior to the meeting.[20] Announced, along with President Juan Manuel Santos, that the United States–Colombia Free Trade Agreement would take effect May 15, 2012.[21]
March 23–24, 2016 |  Argentina | Buenos Aires, Bariloche  | Official visit. Met with President Mauricio Macri. Laid a wreath at the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral.[22]
November 18–20, 2016 |  Peru | Lima  | Attended the APEC Summit Meeting.
Donald Trump | November 29 – December 1, 2018 |  Argentina | Buenos Aires  | Attended the G20 summit.
Joe Biden | November 14–17, 2024 |  Peru | Lima  | Attended the APEC Summit Meeting.
November 17–19, 2024 |  Brazil | Rio de Janeiro, Manaus  | Attended the G20 summit. It was the first time a sitting American president had visited the Amazon.[23]

## Travels of former presidents

[edit]

### Theodore Roosevelt

[edit]

Further information: Roosevelt–Rondon Scientific Expedition

Theodore Roosevelt, along with Cândido Rondon, explorered the 1000-mile long "River of Doubt" (later renamed Rio Roosevelt) located in a remote area of the Amazon basin in 1913–14. Sponsored in part by the American Museum of Natural History, they also collected many new animal and insect specimens.[24]

### Jimmy Carter

[edit]

Jimmy Carter, along with Carter Center personnel, met with São Paulo Governor José Serra and former president Fernando Cardoso; received special human rights award; and met with a roundtable of preeminent business and financial leaders in São Paulo. Also met with President Lula da Silva, Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, and other Brazilian leaders in Brasilia, May 3–4, 2009.[25]

## See also

[edit]

* Foreign policy of the United States
* Latin America–United States relations

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Herbert Hoover: Foreign Affairs". millercenter.org. Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
2. ^ Deconde, Alexander (March 1950). "Herbert Hoover's Good Will Tour". Historian. 12 (2): 167–181\. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.1950.tb00106.x.
3. ^ Travels of President Herbert C. Hoover U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ a b c d Hoover, Herbert (1974). "Supplement IV – Addresses During a Trip to Central and South America". Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Herbert Hoover. Vol. 1\. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. pp. 615–642\. Archived from the original on August 3, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
5. ^ DeConde, Alexander (1951). Herbert Hoover's Latin-American Policy. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 36\. ISBN 9780804713436. Retrieved May 20, 2016. `{{cite book}}`: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
6. ^ Kinsley, Philip (December 15, 1928). "Silent Hoover Wins Argentine Man of Silence: President Irigoyen Made Friend of U. S." Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1\. ProQuest 180959992. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
7. ^ "Good Will Tour Success, Hoover Wires Coolidge: Uses Direct Cable Line from Buenos Aires". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 16, 1928. p. 3\. ProQuest 180956550. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
8. ^ Jeansonne, Glen (2012). The Life of Herbert Hoover: Fighting Quaker, 1928-1933. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 44–45\. ISBN 978-1-137-34673-5. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
9. ^ Travels of President Franklin D. Roosevelt U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-11-09 at the Wayback Machine
10. ^ Travels of President Harry S. Truman U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-11-09 at the Wayback Machine
11. ^ Travels of President Dwight D. Eisenhower U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-12-05 at the Wayback Machine
12. ^ "Travels of President John F. Kennedy". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
13. ^ Travels of President Lyndon B. Johnson U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-12-18 at the Wayback Machine
14. ^ Travels of President Jimmy Carter U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-12-06 at the Wayback Machine
15. ^ Travels of President Ronald Reagan U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-11-09 at the Wayback Machine
16. ^ Travels of President George H. W. Bush U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-11-09 at the Wayback Machine
17. ^ Travels of President Bill Clinton U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
18. ^ Travels of President George W. Bush U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
19. ^ a b c "Travels of President Barack Obama". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
20. ^ "Barack Obama's bodyguards sent home from Colombia summit amid prostitution allegations". The Telegraph. London. April 14, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
21. ^ Al Sema, Adriaan (April 15, 2012). "Obama, Santos confirm US-Colombia trade pact takes effect May 15". Colombia Reports. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
22. ^ Lahrichi, Kamilla; Zoroya, Gregg (March 23, 2016). "Obama says top priority is to defeat Islamic State". USA Today. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
23. ^ Ionova, Ana; Shear, Michael D. (2024-11-17). "Biden Visits Amazon, Vowing Help to Fight Climate Change". The New York Times.
24. ^ Brooke, Michael (February 25, 1992). "In T. R.'s Footsteps, Scientists Embark on Amazonian Expedition". The New York Times.
25. ^ "Trip Report by Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil: April 27–May 5, 2009". cartercenter.org. Atlanta, Georgia: The Carter Center.

* v
* t
* e

United States presidential visits to the Americas

Sovereign
states|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Argentina
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* Dominica
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Grenada
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Suriname
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Dependencies
and territories|

* Anguilla
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* Bermuda
* Bonaire
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* Cayman Islands
* Curaçao
* Falkland Islands
* French Guiana
* Greenland
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* Saint Martin
* Saint Pierre and Miquelon
* Sint Eustatius
* Sint Maarten
* South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
* Turks and Caicos Islands
* U.S. Virgin Islands

* North America
* Central America
* Caribbean
*   * Latin America
*   * South America

* v
* t
* e

International trips made by the president of the United States

By place|

| Africa|

* North Africa
* Sub-Saharan Africa

|

Americas|

* Canada
* Caribbean
* Central America
* Mexico
* South America

Eurasia|

* East Asia
* Eastern Europe and Northern Asia
* Middle East
* Northern Europe
* South Asia
* Southeast Asia
* Southern Europe
* United Kingdom and Ireland
* Western Europe

Oceania|

* Australia and New Zealand

By president|

* Wilson
* Harding
* Hoover
* F. D. Roosevelt
* Truman
* Eisenhower
* Kennedy
* L. B. Johnson
* Nixon
* Ford
* Carter
* Reagan
* G. H. W. Bush
* Clinton
* G. W. Bush
* Obama
* Trump
* Biden
* Trump

* v
* t
* e

Foreign relations of the United States

Bilateral relations

| Africa|

| Central|

* Angola
* Cameroon
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Equatorial Guinea
* Gabon
* São Tomé and Príncipe

|

East|

* Burundi
* Comoros
* Djibouti
* Eritrea
* Ethiopia
* Kenya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mauritius
* Mozambique
* Rwanda
* Seychelles
* Somalia
* Somaliland
* South Sudan
* Tanzania
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

North|

* Algeria
* Egypt
* Libya
* Morocco
* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* Sudan
* Tunisia

Southern|

* Botswana
* Eswatini
* Lesotho
* Namibia
* South Africa

West|

* Benin
* Burkina Faso
* Cape Verde
* Côte d'Ivoire
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Liberia
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Senegal
* Sierra Leone
* Togo

Americas|

| Caribbean|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Cuba
* Dominica
* Dominican Republic
* Grenada
* Haiti
* Jamaica
* St. Kitts and Nevis
* St. Lucia
* St. Vincent and the Grenadines
* Trinidad and Tobago

|

Central|

* Belize
* Costa Rica
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Honduras
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Panama

Northern|

* Canada
* trade

South|

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Guyana
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Suriname
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

| Central|

* Kazakhstan
* Kyrgyzstan
* Tajikistan
* Turkmenistan
* Uzbekistan

|

East|

* China
* Hong Kong
* Macau
* Japan
* Mongolia
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Taiwan

South|

* Afghanistan
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* India
* Maldives
* Nepal
* Pakistan
* military
* Sri Lanka

Southeast|

* Brunei
* Cambodia
* Indonesia
* Laos
* Malaysia
* Myanmar
* Philippines
* Singapore
* Thailand
* Timor-Leste
* Vietnam

Western|

* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Georgia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* military
* Jordan
* Kuwait
* Lebanon
* Oman
* Palestine
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Syria
* United Arab Emirates
* Yemen

Europe|

| Eastern|

* Belarus
* Bulgaria
* Czech Republic
* Hungary
* Moldova
* Transnistria
* Poland
* Romania
* Russia
* Slovakia
* Ukraine

|

Northern|

* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Norway
* Sweden
* United Kingdom
* Special Relationship
* Bermuda
* Cayman Islands

Southern|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Northern Cyprus
* Greece
* Holy See
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Malta
* Montenegro
* North Macedonia
* Portugal
* San Marino
* Serbia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Turkey

Western|

* Austria
* Belgium
* France
* Germany
* Liechtenstein
* Luxembourg
* Monaco
* Netherlands
* Switzerland

Oceania|

| Australasia|

* Australia
* New Zealand

|

Melanesia|

* Fiji
* Papua New Guinea
* Solomon Islands
* Vanuatu

Micronesia|

* Kiribati
* Marshall Islands
* Micronesia
* Nauru
* Palau

Polynesia|

* Cook Islands
* Samoa
* Tonga
* Tuvalu

Former states|

* Artsakh
* Grand Duchy of Baden
* Kingdom of Bavaria
* Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg
* Federal Republic of Central America
* Greater Republic of Central America
* Congo Free State
* Czechoslovakia
* East Germany
* Republic of Genoa
* German Empire
* Kingdom of Hanover
* Hanseatic Republics
* Hawaiian Kingdom
* Grand Duchy of Hesse
* Mecklenburg-Schwerin
* Mecklenburg-Strelitz
* Duchy of Nassau
* North German Confederation
* Grand Duchy of Oldenburg
* Orange Free State
* Ottoman Empire
* Papal States
* Duchy of Parma
* Prussia
* Russian Empire
* Ryukyu Kingdom
* Kingdom of Sardinia
* Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe
* Soviet Union
* Republic of Texas
* Grand Duchy of Tuscany
* Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
* United Arab Republic
* Kingdom of Württemberg
* Yugoslavia

Multilateral relations

* Africa
* Arab League
* Asia
* East Asia
* European Union
* Latin America
* Middle East
* United Nations
* C5+1
* Major non-NATO ally
* Third Border Initiative
* International organizations

Doctrines, policies, concepts

| Presidential
doctrines|

* Proclamation of Neutrality
* Monroe
* Roosevelt Corollary
* Good Neighbor policy
* Truman
* Eisenhower
* Kennedy
* Johnson
* Nixon
* Carter
* Reagan
* Clinton
* Bush
* Obama

|

Other doctrines|

* Lodge Corollary
* Stimson
* Kirkpatrick
* Weinberger
* Powell
* Rumsfeld
* Wolfowitz

Policies and
concepts|

* Blowback
* China policy
* Containment
* Domino theory
* Foreign aid
* Middle East policy
* Non-interventionism
* Progressive realism
* Rollback
* Special Relationship

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