United States presidential visits to Central America

Eleven United States presidents and three presidents-elect have made thirty-four presidential visits to Central America. The first visit by an incumbent president to a country in Central America was made in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt. The trip, to Panama, was the first international presidential trip in U.S. history, and signaled the start of a new era in how presidents conducted diplomatic relations with other countries.[1] In 1928, Herbert Hoover, during the time when he was president-elect, visited the region during his historic "good will" trip, to Central and South America.[2][3]

The countries of Central America and their capital cities

The number of visits made to each country in the region are: 12 to Panama, seven to Costa Rica, five to El Salvador, four to Honduras, three to Guatemala, and three to Nicaragua. Only Belize has not been visited by an American president.

Table of visits
President Dates Country Locations Key details
Theodore Roosevelt November 14–17, 1906  Panama Colón,
Panama City		 Inspected Panama Canal construction.[4]
William H. Taft January 29 – February 7, 1909 Colón,
Panama City		 Inspected Panama Canal construction and met with President José Domingo de Obaldía. (Visit made as President-elect.)[5]
Warren G. Harding November 24, 1920 Colón,
Baihos		 Informal tour of Panama Canal. (Visit made as President-elect.)[6]
Herbert Hoover[7] November 26, 1928  Honduras Amapala Met with President-elect Vicente Mejía Colindres and Foreign Minister Augusto Coello. (Visit made as President-elect.)[8]
November 26, 1928  El Salvador Cutuco Met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Martínez Suárez. (Visit made as President-elect.)[8]
November 27, 1928  Nicaragua Corinto Met with President Adolfo Díaz and President-elect José María Moncada. (Visit made as President-elect.)[9]
November 28, 1928  Costa Rica San José Met with President Cleto González Víquez. (Visit made as President-elect.)[10]
Franklin D. Roosevelt July 11–12, 1934  Panama Panama City Informal visit.[11]
October 16, 1935 Balboa Informal visit with President Harmodio Arias Madrid.[11]
August 4–5, 1938 Informal visit with President Juan Demóstenes Arosemena.[11]
February 27, 1940 Cristóbal,
Balboa		 Met informally with President Augusto Samuel Boyd.[11]
Dwight D. Eisenhower July 21–23, 1956 Panama City Attended a meeting of the Presidents of the American Republics.[12]
John F. Kennedy March 18–20, 1963  Costa Rica San Jose Attended Conference of Presidents of the Central American Republics.[13]
Lyndon B. Johnson July 8, 1968  El Salvador San Salvador Attended meeting of the Presidents of Central American Republics.[14]
July 8, 1968  Nicaragua Managua Informal visit; met with President Anastasio Somoza Debayle.[14]
July 8, 1968  Costa Rica San José Informal visit; met with President José Joaquín Trejos Fernández.[14]
July 8, 1968  Honduras San Pedro Sula Informal visit; met with President Oswaldo López Arellano.[14]
July 8, 1968  Guatemala Guatemala City Informal visit; met with President Julio César Méndez Montenegro.[14]
Jimmy Carter June 16–17, 1978  Panama Panama City Invited by President Demetrio B. Lakas and General Omar Torrijos to sign protocol confirming exchange of documents ratifying the Panama Canal treaties. Also met informally with Presidents Carlos Andrés Pérez of Venezuela, Alfonso López Michelsen of Colombia, José López Portillo of Mexico, Rodrigo Carazo Odio of Costa Rica, and Prime Minister Michael Manley of Jamaica.[15]
Ronald Reagan December 3–4, 1982  Costa Rica San José Official working visit; met with President Luis Alberto Monge and President Álvaro Magaña of El Salvador.[16]
December 4, 1982  Honduras San Pedro Sula Official working visit; met with President Roberto Suazo Córdova and with Guatemalan President Efraín Ríos Montt.[16]
George H. W. Bush October 27–28, 1989  Costa Rica San José Attended Hemispheric Summit Meeting.[17]
June 11, 1992  Panama Panama City Met with President Guillermo Endara and delivered public addresses.[17]
Bill Clinton May 7–9, 1997  Costa Rica San José Attended a Summit Meeting of Presidents of the Central American Republics.[18]
March 8, 1999  Nicaragua Managua,
Posoltega,
El Porvenir		 Discussed reconstruction aid with President Arnoldo Alemán and visited the El Porvenir Maya city site.[18]
March 8–9, 1999  Honduras Soto Cano Air Base,
Tegucigalpa		 Discussed reconstruction aid with President Carlos Roberto Flores; addressed U.S. military personnel.[18]
March 10, 1999  El Salvador San Salvador Met with President Armando Calderón Sol and Addressed the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador.[18]
March 10–11, 1999  Guatemala Guatemala City,
Antigua		 Attended Central American Summit meeting with leaders of seven Central American and Caribbean nations.[19][18]
George W. Bush March 24, 2002  El Salvador San Salvador Attended a summit meeting with Central American heads of state.[20]
November 6–7, 2005  Panama Panama City Met with President Martín Torrijos.[20]
March 11–12, 2007  Guatemala Guatemala City,
Santa Cruz del Quiché,
Santa Cruz Balanyá,
Iximche		 Informal visit; met with President Óscar Berger. Visited Iximche archaeological site.[20]
Barack Obama March 22–23, 2011  El Salvador San Salvador Met with President Mauricio Funes.[21]
May 3–4, 2013  Costa Rica San José Met with President Laura Chinchilla and leaders of the Central American Integration System.[21]
April 10–11, 2015  Panama Panama City Attended the 7th Summit of the Americas.[22]

See also

References
  1. "This Day In History: 1906-Teddy Roosevelt travels to Panama". history.com. A+E Networks.
  2. "Herbert Hoover: Foreign Affairs". millercenter.org. Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  3. Deconde, Alexander (March 1950). "Herbert Hoover's Good Will Tour". Historian. 12 (2): 167–181. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.1950.tb00106.x.
  4. "Travels of President Theodore Roosevelt". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  5. "Travels of President William Howard Taft". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  6. "Travels of President Warren G. Harding". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  7. "Travels of President Herbert C. Hoover". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. Cohen, Alex (November 29, 1928). "Don Cleto Gonzales Viquez, President of Costa Rica, in welcoming President Elect Herbert C. Hoover today, made the following address: Our Love OF U. S. Great, Message from Costa Rica". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 2. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  11. "Travels of President Franklin D. Roosevelt". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  12. "Travels of President Dwight D. Eisenhower". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  13. "Travels of President John F. Kennedy". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  14. "Travels of President Lyndon B. Johnson". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  15. "Travels of President Jimmy Carter". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  16. "Travels of President Ronald Reagan". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  17. "Travels of President George H. W. Bush". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  18. "Travels of President William J. Clinton". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  19. "Central American Summit". npr.org. March 11, 1999. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  20. "Travels of President George W. Bush". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  21. "Travels of President Barack Obama". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  22. "Seventh Summit of the Americas Panama City, Panama, April 10-11, 2015". summit-americas.org.
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