us embassy colombia travel

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Travel Facts

Us state dept travel advisory.

The US Department of State currently recommends US citizens Reconsider Travel due to crime and terrorism. Exercise increased caution due to civil unrest and kidnapping. Some areas have increased risk. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html

Passport/Visa Requirements

For the latest passport and visa requirements for this country, please consult the U.S. State Department’s “Learn About Your Destination” search tool, available through the link below. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages.html

US Embassy/Consulate

[57] (1) 275-2000; US Embassy in Bogota, Carrera 45 No. 24B-27 Bogotá, D.C. Colombia; https://co.usembassy.gov/; [email protected]

LGBTQIA+ Travelers

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) travelers can face unique challenges when traveling abroad. Laws and attitudes in some countries may affect safety and ease of travel. Legal protections vary from country to country. Many countries do not legally recognize same-sex marriage . Approximately seventy countries consider consensual same-sex sexual relations a crime , sometimes carrying severe punishment. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/lgbtqi.html

Telephone Code

Local emergency phone, vaccinations.

The CDC and WHO recommend the following vaccinations for Colombia: hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid, yellow fever, rabies, meningitis, polio, measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), chickenpox, shingles, pneumonia, COVID-19, and influenza. http://www.who.int/

Tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands

Currency (Code)

Pesos (COP)

Electricity/Voltage/Plug Type(s)

Major Languages

Major religions.

Roman Catholic 79%, Protestant 14%

Time Difference

UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Potable Water

Opt for bottled water

International Driving Permit

Suggested; additionally, if you plan to drive in Colombia, you will need an Inter-American Driving Permit issued by the AAA

Road Driving Side

Tourist destinations.

Salt Cathedral; Tayrona National Park; Monserrate; Santuario de Las Lajas; Los Nevados National Park; Cartagena; Cano Cristales; Qhapaq Nan/Andean Road System; San Agustin Archaeological Park; National Archeological Park of Tierradentro

Major Sports

Soccer, boxing, shooting sports, taekwondo, wrestling, tejo (involves throwing a disc at a small target)

Cultural Practices

Shake hands when you meet someone for the first time. Kissing on the cheek is very informal, and it's only acceptable when you already know the person.

Tipping Guidelines

A 10% tip is common at restaurants. Taxi drivers are rarely tipped. An appropriate tip for a porter/bellboy is about $1 (USD) per bag.

Crocheted mochila bags, handwoven and mola fabric items, leather goods, silver/gold filigree and precious stone jewelry, ceramics, carved wooden statues, musical instruments, Tagua plant carved items, coconut-sourced goods, coffee

Traditional Cuisine

Ajiaco — a soup made with chicken, three varieties of potatoes, and guasca (an herb); typically garnished with capers, avocado slices, corn on the cob, or cream

Please visit the following links to find further information about your desired destination. World Health Organization (WHO) - To learn what vaccines and health precautions to take while visiting your destination. US State Dept Travel Information - Overall information about foreign travel for US citizens. To obtain an international driving permit (IDP). Only two organizations in the US issue IDPs: American Automobile Association (AAA) and American Automobile Touring Alliance (AATA) How to get help in an emergency?  Contact the nearest US embassy or consulate, or call one of these numbers: from the US or Canada - 1-888-407-4747 or from Overseas - +1 202-501-4444 Page last updated: Thursday, March 28, 2024

Update April 12, 2024

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U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia - BGT

Please follow the steps below before your immigrant visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia. Immigrant visa interviews for residents of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao are being scheduled at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá starting in January 2017. 

Please read the following instructions for Venezuelan applicants processing in Bogota, Colombia   

Residents of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao:  Please see page 8 for instructions .

Step 1: Register your appointment online

You need to register your appointment online. Registering your appointment provides us with the information we need to return your passport to you after your interview. Registration is free . Click the “Register” button below to register. If you want to cancel or reschedule your appointment, you will be able to do so after you register your appointment. Residents of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao do not need to register their appointments .  

Register >>

Step 2: Schedule a medical exam in Bogotá

As soon as you receive your appointment date, you must schedule a medical exam in Bogotá. Click the “Medical Exam Instructions” link below for a list of designated doctor’s offices. Please schedule and attend a medical exam with one of these doctors before your interview.  

Medical Exam Instructions >>

Step 3: Complete your pre-interview checklist

It is important that you bring all required original documents to your interview. We’ve created a checklist that will tell you what to bring. Please print the checklist below and bring it to your interview along with the listed documents.  

Pre-Interview Checklist >>

Step 4: Review interview guidelines

Read our interview guidelines to learn about any special actions that you need to take before your visa interview

Interview Guidelines >>

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Medical Exam Instructions

All immigrant visa applicants, regardless of age, require a medical examination prior to the issuance of a visa. Only a physician accredited by the U.S. Embassy can perform this exam. It is your responsibility to schedule a medical exam with one of the doctors listed below before your visa interview at the U.S. Embassy. Medical examination results from other physicians are not accepted.

Approved Physicians Dr. Rodolfo Jose Dennis Fundación Cardioinfantil Cra. 13B No. 161-85 Torre I, Piso 9, Consultorios 914-915, Bogotá Telephone : 805-0091, 3182663175, 6672727 ext. 79915, 79950, 79951 Email: [email protected]  

Dr. JUAN PIÑEROS (children only) Centro Médico de La Sabana Cra. 7 No. 119-14, Cons # 326, Bogotá Telephone: 6121224 Email: [email protected]  

Dr. JAIRO H. ROA Centro Médico de La Sabana Cra. 7 No. 119-14, Cons # 325, Bogota Telephone: 2151763, 6192044, 6192055, or 2152970 From U.S.: 1-800-606-8339 Email: [email protected]

Items to bring to your medical examination

The doctor will need the following items to complete the medical exam forms:

• Your visa interview letter,
• Your valid passport,
• Four (4) recently taken passport-sized color photographs,
• A copy of your immunization records,
• A copy of your medical history, and
• Your complete name
• Case number (BGTXXXXXXXXX)
• Mailing address in Colombia and the United States
• Email address
• Telephone number
• For women only: a list of any biological children and their dates of birth
• DS-260 confirmation page

Any medical examination fees, including x-ray and blood test fees, must be paid directly to the examining physician.

During the medical exam

The medical examination will include a medical history review, physical examination, chest X-ray, syphilis and gonorrhea exam, and blood tests (for applicants 15 years of age or older). The United States also requires tuberculosis (TB) testing for all applicants two years of age and older. Please be prepared to discuss your medical history, medications you are taking, and current treatments you are undergoing. More information on general medical requirements for U.S. immigrants is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website .

U.S. immigration law requires immigrant visa applicants to obtain certain vaccinations prior to the issuance of a visa. Current immigrant vaccination requirements are available on the Center for Disease Control website . You can also read Frequently Asked Questions about our medical examination requirements online.

After the medical exam

When your examination is completed, the doctor will provide you with exam results in a sealed envelope or send them directly to the U.S. Embassy. IF GIVEN AN ENVELOPE TO CARRY TO YOUR INTERVIEW, DO NOT OPEN THIS ENVELOPE. Instead, bring it to your visa interview.

Any x-rays taken will be given to you. You DO NOT need to bring the x-rays to your visa interview unless you suffer from tuberculosis (TB). However, you must carry the x-rays with you when you travel to the United States for the first time. The medical report must be less than six months old when you enter the United States as an immigrant.

Pre-Interview checklist

Please use the list below to determine the items that every applicant must bring to the immigrant visa interview. Any documents that are not in either English or Spanish must be accompanied by a certified English translation:

A copy of your NVC interview letter (does not apply to Diversity Visa, fiancé(e), adoptive, or asylee/refugee applicants).

Unexpired passport valid for six months beyond your intended date of entry to the United States and a photocopy of the biographic page (where your name and photo are located).

Two (2) color photographs of each person applying for a visa (5 cm x 5 cm, or 2 inch x 2 inch). Please review our online photo requirements . Starting November 1, 2016, eye glasses are no longer allowed in visa photos.

Confirmation page from the Form DS-260 Application for an Immigrant Visa you submitted online at ceac.state.gov/iv .

Your original birth certificate,  and a photocopy.

Original or certified copies of birth certificates for all children of the principal applicant (even if he or she is not accompanying).

Medical examination results in a sealed envelope (if the physician gives you these results).

Applicants who fall into any category listed in italics below should bring these additional documents:

For family-based visa applications:

• The appropriate Form I-864 Affidavit of Support for each financial sponsor along with a photocopy of the sponsor’s IRS transcript or most recent U.S. federal income tax return, and any relevant W-2s.
• Proof of your U.S. petitioner’s status and domicile in the United States (photocopy of a U.S. passport, naturalization certificate, or lawful permanent resident card).
• Evidence of the relationship between the petitioner and visa applicant (such as photographs, letters, or emails).

If you are married:   Your original marriage certificate, and a photocopy.

If you were previously married:   Your original divorce or spouse’s death certificate, and a photocopy. Proof that a Colombian divorce was registered with civil authorities (either an annotated birth certificate or marriage certificate) is required in addition to the original divorce decree.

If you are older than 18 years of age:   The original police certificate from your country of current residence and countries of previous residence. If these three items are all true, you must bring a more recent police certificate to the interview:

• You are older than 18 years;
• You obtained a police certificate and submitted it to NVC more than one year ago; and
• You still live in the country that issued the police certificate.

For employment-based visa applications:   Letter from your U.S. employer dated less than one month ago.

If you have ever been convicted of a crime:   Court and criminal records, and a photocopy.

If you have served in any country’s military:   Military records, and a photocopy.

If you are adopted:   Adoption papers or custody documents, and a photocopy.

If you are the petitioner’s stepchild:   The original marriage certificate of the petitioner and your biological parent, and a photocopy along with original divorce records for any previous marriages of either parent.

Interview Guidelines

Sending documents to the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá

If you need to send us any documents, please DO NOT mail them to us directly. Instead, visit ais.usvisa-info.com/courier and ask for information on courier services. Please do not send any original documents to us; only send photocopies via courier or mail. You may bring original documents (plus a photocopy for the consulate’s files) to your visa interview.

Rescheduling or cancelling your interview  

If you are unable to attend your appointment, please go to ais.usvisa-info.com to select a new appointment date. There may be a significant wait before the next available appointment, so please attempt to attend the date already assigned. For some family-based and employment preference visa categories, a visa became available within the month you have been scheduled by NVC. DV applicants should be aware that visas are numerically limited and must be issued by September 30 of the program year. There is no guarantee that a visa will still be available on the date of your rescheduled interview. Please carefully consult the Visa Bulletin before you request to reschedule your interview.

Please note: You need to register your original NVC/KCC appointment online before you can reschedule it. Rescheduling is only possible on a date after your assigned appointment.

Security screening procedures

All visitors to the U.S. Embassy in Colombia must follow certain security procedures. Any visitor who declines to be screened by U.S. Embassy security personnel will be unable to enter the embassy. To avoid delaying your entry and that of those in line behind you, please bring only what is required for your interview. If you leave items in your car, be sure to put them in the trunk and lock your car; do not leave any personal items in view in the passenger compartment.

Accompanying persons

Attorneys are not permitted to accompany clients into the waiting room or to their interview. The following persons may accompany a visa applicant to their interview:

• Interpreter: Applicants may bring ONE interpreter if they do not speak English or Spanish well enough to participate in an interview.
• Special Needs Visitors: Applicants may bring ONE person to help if they are elderly, disabled, or a minor child.

Immigrant visa fees

If you have not paid all required fees to either the National Visa Center or via the appointment website, please be prepared to pay these fees on the day of your interview.

All fees may be paid in either U.S. dollars or the Colombian pesos equivalent. The embassy accepts international credit cards displaying the Visa or MasterCard logo, and debit cards from all countries except Colombia. The U.S. banking system does not use the ‘cuota’ system, which means that credit cards will be charged the entire amount in one installment. Please note that if you are found ineligible to receive a visa, the application fee cannot be refunded. A complete list of fees can be found on our Fees for Visa Services webpage .

Do not make travel plans outside of Colombia

If your visa is approved, we will keep your passport at the consulate while we prepare your immigration packet and print a visa for your passport. We will return your passport to you later via courier services only. If you have to travel within Colombia while your passport is still with us, please make sure you have a valid picture ID other than your passport.

After Your Visa Interview

A consular officer can make a decision on a visa application only after reviewing the formal application and interviewing the applicant. There is no guarantee that you will receive a visa. Do not sell your house, car or property, resign from your job or make non-refundable flight or other travel arrangements until you have received your immigrant visa.

If more information is needed

Sometimes a consular officer is unable to make a decision on a visa application because he/she needs to review additional documents or the case requires further administrative processing. When additional documents are requested,  the consular officer will give you a refusal letter that asks you to submit additional documents. The letter will include instructions on how to send those documents to the embassy.

Administrative processing takes additional time after the interview. Most administrative processing is resolved within 60 days. However, the timing varies based on the circumstances of each case. Before inquiring about the status of administrative processing, please wait at least 60 days after your interview.

What happens after visa approval

Passport, Visa, and Sealed Immigrant Packet – We will place your immigrant visa on a page in your passport. Please review your visa to make sure there are no spelling errors. We will also give you a sealed envelope containing documents that you must give to U.S. immigration authorities when you arrive in the United States for the first time. Do not open this envelope. You must carry it with you; do not put it in your checked luggage. If you receive X-rays during your medical examination, carry those with you and give them to the U.S. immigration authorities, if required.

USCIS Immigrant Fee – All individuals who are issued immigrant visas overseas must pay an Immigrant Fee to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) prior to traveling to the United States. This fee is for processing your residency status and printing your Permanent Resident Card. The only people exempt from paying this fee are: children entering the United States under the Hague Process, returning residents, and people traveling on a fiancé(e) (K) visa.

When You Should Travel – You must enter the United States before the expiration date on your visa, which is usually six months from the date of your medical exam. Your visa cannot be extended and all fees are nonrefundable. The principal applicant must enter before or at the same time as other family members with visas. Unless they are eligible for benefits under the Child Status Protection Act, children who are issued a visa before turning 21 years of age must enter the United States before their 21st birthday to avoid losing their immigrant status.

Getting a Green Card – Your Form I-551 Permanent Resident Card, also known as a green card, will be automatically mailed to the address in the United States that you write in your visa application form. This is a very important document that proves you have permission to reside in the United States. If you plan to travel outside the U.S. before your green card arrives: Please consult USCIS’s and CBP’s websites for rules about what documents you need to re-enter the country. We also recommend you check with the airline to ensure you are in compliance with their rules. Once your card is issued, you should not stay outside of the United States for more than one year. If you do, you will lose your status as a Lawful Permanent Resident.

Children’s Issues – In the United States, children are required to have certain vaccinations before they can enroll in school. We recommend that you bring your child’s complete vaccination records with you to the United States. If your child is adopted, you have full custody as a result of a divorce, or you share custody with another parent, you should bring a copy of all applicable adoption or custody papers from the authoritative court in your home country. You will need these papers (translated into English) for issues such as school enrollment, medical care, and eventual citizenship.

Information for New Immigrants – Please visit the USCIS web page for helpful information on moving to the United States. You can read their publication “Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants” online.

Diversity Visa Applicants - Additional Information

If you are interviewing for a Diversity Visa (DV), all of the above instructions apply to you. Please schedule and attend a  medical examination  prior to your visa interview; enroll in the required  required courier service ; and gather the required documents.

Below are additional instructions that apply  only  to DV applicants.

Bring to your interview

In addition to the documents listed on the Pre-Interview Checklist in this package, DV applicants should also bring the following items to your visa interview:

• Appointment information printed from the “Entrant Status Check” on the E-DV website .
• Documents showing that you have either a qualifying high school education OR two (2) years of qualifying work experience in the five (5) years immediately prior to application (for the principal applicant only; more information is available on our Diversity Visa Process webpage ).
• Payment in cash of the $330 Diversity Visa Application Fee for each DV applicant.

Review your DV Lottery entry

Prior to your visa interview, we recommend that you review the data on your initial E-DV entry. On your initial E-DV application, you must have correctly entered your marital status. If you are legally married you must have listed your spouse, even if you are currently separated from him/her (unless your spouse is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident).

Additionally, you must have listed ALL of your living children who are unmarried and under 21 years old. This includes your natural children, your spouse’s children, or children you have formally adopted in accordance with the laws of your country.

Failure to have listed an existing spouse or children at the time of your entry in the Diversity Visa lottery will result in the denial of your visa and visas for your family. Any fees paid to the U.S. government in support of your visa application(s) are nonrefundable. If you failed to include a child who had already been born, or a spouse to whom you were married when you entered the lottery, you should not proceed with the visa application. You can review the eligibility requirements on our Diversity Visa Process webpage.

ABC Island Applicants – Additional Information

If you are an applicant from Aruba, Bonaire, or Curacao (“ABC”) Islands, please follow Steps 2 and 3   to schedule your medical exam appointment and prepare the necessary documents for your interview. As of January 2017, you must complete your medical exam with one of the embassy-approved physicians located in Colombia.

Below are additional instructions that apply only to ABC Island applicants.

Scheduling your interview

NVC will schedule your interview date and time. There is NO need to register your appointment in the online system. You may receive an automated email requesting you register your appointment online; please disregard those emails.

Rescheduling your interview

Please email [email protected] if you are unable to attend the date assigned in your NVC appointment letter. The embassy will respond via email to confirm the date/time of any reschedule requests. There may be a significant wait before the next available appointment, so please attempt to attend the date already assigned. For some family-based and employment preference visa categories a visa became available within the month you have been scheduled by NVC. DV applicants should be aware that visas are numerically limited and must be issued by September 30 of the program year. There is no guarantee that a visa will still be available on the date of your rescheduled interview. Please carefully consult the Visa Bulletin before you decide to reschedule your interview.

If your visa is approved, the embassy will try to return your passport and sealed immigrant packet to you within 24 to 48 hours after your interview. You may wish to schedule your return flights accordingly. There is no guarantee we will be able to return your passport quickly. If you must depart Bogota before your passport can be returned, you will need to send your passport back to the embassy via DHL. You also will be required to send a self-addressed, pre-paid DHL envelope for use of the U.S. Embassy in returning your passport and documents. You must obtain this envelope at a Bogota DHL office prior to your departure. The embassy will provide written instructions during your interview.

Please read the useful information in the “ After Your Visa Interview ” section above.

If the consular officer is unable to approve your visa at the time of the interview, you will be given instructions on how to return your passport and any additional documents to the embassy via DHL. You also will be required to send a selfaddressed, pre-paid DHL envelope for use of the U.S. Embassy in returning your passport and documents. You must obtain this envelope at a Bogota DHL office prior to your departure.

Print (Translation included)

Last Updated: 9/27/2023

Contact Information

Calle 24 Bis No. 48-50 Bogotá, D.C. Colombia

Other Links

Diversity visa instructions After Your Interview Frequently asked questions Where to get civil documents

Interview Preparation

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US cuts visa wait times down to 2 months for Colombians

The U.S State Department announced Wednesday at the U.S Embassy in Bogotá that visa processing times for first-time applicants, as well as renewals, have been significantly reduced for Colombians wanting to visit the U.S

In a video released on the Embassy’s Twitter account, members of the consular team are seen together with Rena Bitter, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and Brendan O’Brien, Deputy Chief of Mission, in which the government representatives confirm that “visas are a vital part of bilateral relations,” and wait times for visa waiver appointments have been reduced from two years to “less than two months.”

The backlog in processing B1/B2 visas received support from consular officers working in other U.S missions. The announcement comes ahead of the holiday season and will greatly facilitate travel by Colombians stateside. The US faced delays in visa processing given the global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement comes a month after Colombian President Gustavo Petro proposed visa-free travel for Colombians to the US during a visit by US Secretary of State to Bogotá. Petro and Blinken discussed the importance of “shared priorities” in the binational agenda.

Petro proposes visa-free travel for Colombians to U.S

The City Paper was founded in 2008 as Colombia’s first free English language newspaper. A decade later, it was awarded the country’s Manuel Murillo Toro medal in communications for contributing to informed and objective coverage of Colombia.

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From Nasty Insults to an Embassy Raid: Latin American Relations Get Personal

Ecuador’s raid of Mexico’s embassy shows how foreign policy is often driven by personal politics, not national interest.

By Julie Turkewitz ,  Natalie Kitroeff and Genevieve Glatsky

Julie Turkewitz and Genevieve Glatsky reported from Bogotá, Colombia, and Natalie Kitroeff from Mexico City.

Ecuador was once famous for sheltering a man on the lam: For seven years it allowed the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to hole up in its embassy in London, invoking an international treaty that makes diplomatic premises places of refuge.

Then, last week, the South American nation appeared to tear that treaty to shreds, sending the police into the Mexican Embassy in Quito — over Mexico’s protests — where they arrested a former vice president accused of corruption.

President Daniel Noboa of Ecuador defended the decision to detain the former vice president, Jorge Glas, calling him a criminal and citing the country’s growing security crisis to justify the move.

But his critics said it was one of the most egregious violations of the treaty since its creation in 1961. They saw a more personal motive: Mr. Noboa’s political agenda.

Ecuador has been engulfed in record levels of violence, and Mr. Noboa, a young center-right leader, is eager to look tough on crime. He is just days away from a national referendum that, if approved, would give him sweeping new powers to tackle insecurity — and potentially help him be re-elected next year.

Mr. Noboa characterized the embassy raid and arrest of Mr. Glas as a way to show Ecuador that he was working hard to go after those accused of crime.

But, several analysts say, his government’s decision to forcibly enter the embassy is among the most flagrant examples of a dynamic that has become all too familiar around the world, with Latin America being no exception: foreign policy driven less by lofty principles or national interest and more by the personal aims of leaders hoping to preserve their own political future.

“Foreign policy has never been pure; it’s often been motivated by domestic or individual political interests,” said Dan Restrepo, who served as President Barack Obama’s top adviser on Latin America. “But in the Americas there certainly has been an intensification of the personal in recent years.”

Across the region, the diplomatic rhetoric has deteriorated, with presidents lashing out at one another with a barrage of insults that may appear petty on the world stage but have the potential to play well at home, particularly with their ideological bases.

President Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s left-wing leader, has clashed since last year with El Salvador’s right-wing president, Nayib Bukele. Mr. Petro accused Mr. Bukele of running prisons as “concentration camps,” and Mr. Bukele spotlighted corruption allegations against Mr. Petro’s son.

“Everything ok at home?” Mr. Bukele wrote tauntingly on the platform X.

Argentina’s right-wing president, Javier Milei, has sparred with Mr. Petro, whom he recently called a “murderous terrorist,” leading Mr. Petro to expel Argentine diplomats. (He later reinstated them.)

Mr. Milei has also tussled with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico, calling him an “ignoramus” and once referring to his supporters as members of the “small-penis club.” Mr. López Obrador in turn has labeled Mr. Milei an “ultraconservative fascist.”

The dispute between Mexico and Ecuador first emerged in December, when the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador allowed Mr. Glas to stay there after being welcomed “as a guest,’’ Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said.

Mr. López Obrador then incurred Ecuador’s wrath when he publicly questioned the legitimacy of its presidential election, leading Mr. Noboa’s government to expel the Mexican ambassador. It was the third time a Latin American country had expelled a Mexican ambassador since Mr. López Obrador took office in 2018.

The spat continued to escalate, until finally the police raided the embassy and arrested Mr. Glas last week.

At his daily news conference on Tuesday, Mr. López Obrador called the embassy arrest in Ecuador “a violation not just of the sovereignty of our country, but of international law.” (Ecuador’s action has been broadly condemned, including by the United States, the Organization of American States and countries across Latin America.)

Mexico has a long history of offering dissidents refuge. But the government did not offer much clarity on why it eventually granted Mr. Glas asylum, prompting critics to question whether Mexico’s president, a longtime standard-bearer of the country’s left, was simply trying to protect an ideological ally. Mr. Glas served in a leftist administration.

“What is the national interest being served here in terms of Ecuador’s or Mexico’s position in the world? That’s a question no one has an answer for, because there is none,” said Carlos Bravo Regidor, a political analyst based in Mexico City. “There’s the personal or ideological reasons of the leaders, and that’s it.”

Ecuador’s arrest of Mr. Glas seemed a stark departure from its own willingness to harbor Mr. Assange in its embassy in London for so long.

Mr. Assange is accused of violating the U.S. Espionage Act with WikiLeaks’ publication of classified military and diplomatic documents.

He was allowed into Ecuador’s Embassy by its president at the time, Rafael Correa, a leftist who had an antagonistic relationship with the United States.

But then President Lenin Moreno took office in Ecuador, and he sought to distance himself from Mr. Correa and build warmer relations with the United States. It was Mr. Moreno’s government that permitted Mr. Assange’s eventual arrest.

The WikiLeaks founder remains in British custody and is fighting extradition to the United States.

Mr. Glas served as vice president under Mr. Correa, who in 2020 was convicted on corruption charges and has escaped prison by living abroad. Mr. López Obrador recently praised Mr. Correa for his “very good government.”

(After Mr. Glas’s transfer to a detention center, the authorities in Ecuador said on Monday that they found him in a coma. On Tuesday, the prison authority announced that his condition had improved and he was returned to jail.)

Mr. López Obrador has generally prioritized domestic politics, traveling abroad infrequently and focusing instead on big infrastructure projects and social programs at home.

Much of Mr. López Obrador’s outward attention has been consumed by his relationship with the United States, in which he has gained significant leverage because of his role in managing the migration crisis .

Yet Mr. López Obrador has also been a vocal defender of governments associated with the left across the region. In 2022, he snubbed the Biden administration by refusing to attend a summit hosted by the United States because it excluded Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

In a dramatic episode, Mr. López Obrador’s government sent a military plane to bring the former Bolivian president Evo Morales to Mexico City in 2019.

Mexico also gave refuge to allies of Mr. Morales in its diplomatic premises in Bolivia’s capital — prompting the country to expel Mexico’s ambassador.

Then in late 2022, Mexico granted asylum to the family of Peru’s ousted leftist president, Pedro Castillo, who was in jail after an attempt to dissolve congress. Peru responded by kicking out the Mexican ambassador .

Mr. López Obrador later insisted that Mr. Castillo was Peru’s “legal and legitimate president” and accused the country’s government of “racism” for jailing Mr. Castillo.

The provocative comments, experts said, were part of a pattern. While Mr. López Obrador has said the pillar of his foreign policy is not interfering in other countries’ domestic affairs — and expecting others to treat Mexico the same — he has been unafraid to voice his own views of some of his neighbors’ internal politics.

“It’s surprising that a president who says the principle of nonintervention guides Mexico’s foreign policy opines on the internal political affairs of these two countries without justification,” said Natalia Saltalamacchia, the head of international studies at the Technological Autonomous Institute of Mexico, referring to Peru and Ecuador.

The diplomatic spats have the potential to have real-world effects at a moment when tackling some of the region’s biggest issues — migration, climate change and transnational crime — requires regional cooperation.

In Ecuador, the police say that Mexico’s most powerful cartels, Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation, are financing a ballooning narco-trafficking industry that has fueled violence and death.

If Mr. Noboa’s government “really wanted to confront organized crime,” said Agustín Burbano de Lara, an Ecuadorean political analyst, “what we should have is a closer collaboration with Mexico, not this diplomatic impasse with Mexico.”

Julie Turkewitz is the Andes Bureau Chief for The Times, based in Bogotá, Colombia, covering Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. More about Julie Turkewitz

Natalie Kitroeff is the Mexico City bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. More about Natalie Kitroeff

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