COLOMBIA · DIPLOMACY
Key Facts
- The country Colombia, a key US security partner in South America, has been led by conservative President Abelardo De La Espriella since 7 August 2026.
- What happened On Wednesday 14 October Colombia opened its embassy in Jerusalem, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the ceremony.
- The US link Colombia is the tenth country with an embassy in Jerusalem, a short list that includes the United States, which moved there in 2018.
- The turnaround Leftist former president Gustavo Petro cut ties with Israel in May 2024. The two countries restored relations in August 2026.
- The reaction The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the opening a grave violation of international law and of United Nations resolutions.
- Power Index Colombia ranks 6th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 51.9 points (October 2026 edition).
- Still open Whether Colombia keeps any office in Tel Aviv, and when a new decree that allows coal sales to Israel again takes effect.
Colombia opened its embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday 14 October, joining the United States in a city most governments avoid for their missions. Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar inaugurated it with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar, the Colombian Foreign Ministry said.
Sa’ar said Colombia is only the tenth country with an embassy in Jerusalem, El Tiempo reported. The step completes a sharp turn away from the policy of Colombia’s previous leftist government, which had cut all ties with Israel.
Why an Embassy in Jerusalem Matters
Israel calls Jerusalem its capital, but the Palestinians claim the eastern part of the city as the capital of a future state. For that reason, most governments keep their embassies in Tel Aviv, on the Mediterranean coast.
The United States broke with that practice in May 2018, when it moved its embassy to Jerusalem during Donald Trump’s first term. Only a handful of governments have followed since, and most of Washington’s allies kept their embassies in Tel Aviv.
At the ceremony, Sa’ar said the Colombian mission is the tenth embassy to open its doors in Jerusalem, according to El Tiempo, the Bogotá daily. The paper listed the other nine as the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Fiji, Nauru and Somaliland.
Sa’ar added that an eleventh embassy, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is on its way. Colombia is the fourth Latin American country on that list, after Guatemala, Honduras and Paraguay.
A Sharp Turn From Petro’s Policy
Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla and Colombia’s first leftist president, broke off relations with Israel in May 2024 over the war in Gaza. His government also restricted thermal coal exports to Israel in August that year and made the ban total in 2025.
Abelardo De La Espriella, a conservative lawyer who took office on 7 August, moved quickly to restore those ties. Formal relations were restored in August, the Foreign Ministry said.
As president-elect in July, De La Espriella announced that Colombia’s embassy would move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, El Tiempo recalled. Wednesday’s ceremony turned that promise into a working mission.
His government has also lifted the coal ban through a Trade Ministry decree, El Colombiano, a Medellín daily, reported on Tuesday 13 October. No Colombian coal shipments to Israel were reported in 2026, the paper said.
What Was Said at the Ceremony
Bula called the new embassy a visible expression of Colombia’s determination to re-establish dialogue with Israel, according to the Foreign Ministry. He said the goal is an agenda that brings tangible benefits for citizens.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke at the ceremony, according to Semana, the Bogotá news magazine. He said something remarkable was happening in Latin America and praised De La Espriella for the new closeness.
Sa’ar told the guests that Jerusalem will remain Israel’s unified capital, Semana reported. Tania Gilinski, Colombia’s ambassador to Israel, will lead the new mission, the Foreign Ministry said.
Bula and Sa’ar planned talks on political dialogue, security and defence cooperation, trade, investment, innovation and technology. Bula also laid a wreath at Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.
The ministry said both governments have restored the visa exemption for tourists in both directions. It described the embassy as a milestone in relations that go back nearly seven decades.
Criticism at Home and Abroad
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the new embassy in Jerusalem a grave violation of international law and of United Nations resolutions, El Colombiano reported. It cited Security Council resolutions 476 and 478 of 1980, the second of which asked countries to withdraw their missions from Jerusalem.
Not everyone in Colombia welcomed the move. El Espectador, a national daily founded in 1887, wrote in a Thursday editorial that the embassy in Jerusalem is no act of justice.
The paper argued that Colombia already had an embassy in Tel Aviv that met the needs of its citizens in the region. It saw no logistical reason for the step and called it a new act of international isolation.
What It Means for You
For readers in the United States, Colombia now stands with the small group of governments that follow Washington’s lead on Jerusalem. It signals that Bogotá’s new government wants to stand closer to the Trump administration and to Israel.
Tourists travelling between Colombia and Israel no longer need a visa in either direction. Colombian coal, one of the country’s main exports, can again be sold to Israeli buyers once the new decree takes effect.
For investors, the embassy in Jerusalem is part of a wider reset of Colombian foreign policy under De La Espriella. Cooperation with Israel in security, defence and technology is back on the agenda.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether Colombia will keep any office in Tel Aviv for consular work. No date has been given for agreements from Bula’s talks with Sa’ar.
The coal decree takes effect only the day after it appears in Colombia’s official gazette, and that date is not known. Whether Arab and Muslim-majority governments will go beyond verbal protests is also open.
More: Colombia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which countries have embassies in Jerusalem?
Israel’s foreign minister said Colombia is the tenth, joining the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Fiji, Nauru and Somaliland. He said the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be the eleventh.
Why did Colombia open an embassy in Jerusalem?
President Abelardo De La Espriella, a conservative, is rebuilding the ties with Israel that his leftist predecessor Gustavo Petro cut in 2024. Foreign Minister Omar Bula called the embassy a visible sign of Colombia’s will to restore dialogue.
Do Colombians need a visa to visit Israel?
No, the Colombian Foreign Ministry says both governments have restored the visa exemption for tourists. The rule works in both directions, so Israeli tourists can also visit Colombia without a visa.
When did the United States move its embassy to Jerusalem?
The United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018, during Donald Trump’s first term. Colombia’s new embassy follows that example eight years later.
Sources: Cancillería de Colombia, Colombia inaugura su Embajada en Jerusalén, 14 October 2026; El Tiempo, Colombia inaugura embajada en Jerusalén durante visita del canciller Omar Bula a Israel, 14 October 2026; Semana, Jerusalén seguirá siendo la capital unificada de Israel: canciller Sa’ar en la inauguración de la Embajada de Colombia, 14 October 2026; El Colombiano, Colombia inaugura embajada en Jerusalén y afianza el acercamiento con Israel, 14 October 2026; El Espectador, Un nuevo acto de aislamiento internacional (editorial), 15 October 2026; El Colombiano, Colombia volverá a exportar carbón a Israel, 13 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief