Colombia’s incoming government to fully restore ties with Israel, move embassy to Jerusalem

Laura Gamba Fadul

In a major foreign policy reversal, Colombia’s incoming government under President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella will fully restore economic and diplomatic relations with Israel immediately after taking office on Aug. 7, Israel announced Wednesday.

The news followed a meeting in Washington between Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Omar Bula Colombia’s foreign minister-designate, and was announced by Saar. The two nations have established a “detailed roadmap” to reverse the diplomatic freeze enacted by outgoing President Gustavo Petro. Under the new framework, the incoming administration has agreed to open a Colombian embassy in the occupied city of Jerusalem – rather than Tel Aviv, where most countries have their representations to Israel – and initiate bilateral processes to eliminate mutual tourist visa requirements.

According to Israeli officials, the restoration of ties will immediately override the punitive visa restrictions implemented during last year’s bilateral collapse.

“I am pleased to have met with Omar Bula, Colombia’s incoming Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Washington,” Saar said on X. “We outlined a detailed roadmap for the full and immediate restoration of diplomatic and economic relations … immediately following the inauguration of President Abelardo de la Espriella on August 7.”

Saar confirmed that both nations will immediately reappoint ambassadors to fill the diplomatic void left when envoys were withdrawn in June 2024.

Prior to mid-2025, Colombian citizens enjoyed 90-day visa-free tourism in Israel. Following severe political friction, Israel imposed a mandatory B-2 tourist visa on Colombians effective May 14, 2025. Two months later, in July, Petro’s Foreign Ministry responded with a strict reciprocity measure, requiring short-term entry visas for all Israeli citizens.

The upcoming diplomatic shift marks an end to the anti-Israel foreign policy maintained by the Petro administration. Frictions escalated rapidly following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, when Petro recalled Colombia’s ambassador to Tel Aviv, Margarita Manjarrez.

By May, 2024, Petro formally severed all official diplomatic relations with Israel, repeatedly accusing the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing “genocide” in Gaza. Later that month, Petro ordered the opening of a Colombian embassy in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Last October, the Israeli army intercepted the Global Sumud humanitarian aid flotilla, detaining several Colombian activists on board. In retaliation, Petro expelled all remaining Israeli consular and economic staff and unilaterally terminated a 2020 bilateral free trade agreement.

For decades prior to the Petro administration, Colombia stood as one of Israel’s closest geopolitical allies in Latin America. Israel served as a primary defense contractor for the Colombian Armed Forces, supplying vital military equipment, communication networks, Galil assault rifles, and fighter jets.