Colombia’s Foreign Ministry hailed the opening as a “diplomatic milestone,” while Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called it “a day of celebration for Israel-Colombia relations, and for Jerusalem, our capital.”
The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1957 and have maintained particularly close security ties. Colombia uses Israeli-made rifles and fighter-bombers as part of its military arsenal.
But in 2024, then-President Gustavo Petro severed ties with the Jewish state, joining other leftist leaders in falsely accusing Israel of genocide in its response to the Hamas terrorist massacre of more than 1200 Israeli men, women and children in October 2023.
Restoring relations with Israel became a priority for de la Espriella’s government.
“This embassy is a visible expression of our determination to restore dialogue, strengthen mutual trust and build an agenda that delivers tangible benefits to our citizens,” Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula said.
In early October, Colombia appointed Tania Gilinski Bacal as its ambassador to Israel and tasked her with strengthening trade ties and cooperation on security, intelligence, cybersecurity and information sharing.
Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in late 2017, making the U.S. the first country to do so.
Since then, nine foreign governments have followed suit, including several Latin American countries.
