United States presidential visits to Central America
# 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. 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.

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. |
| William H. Taft | January 29 – February 7, 1909 | Panama | Colón, Panama City | Inspected Panama Canal construction and met with President José Domingo de Obaldía. (Visit made as President-elect.) |
| Warren G. Harding | November 24, 1920 | Panama | Colón, Baihos | Informal tour of Panama Canal. (Visit made as President-elect.) |
| Herbert Hoover | November 26, 1928 | Honduras | Amapala | Met with President-elect Vicente Mejía Colindres and Foreign Minister Augusto Coello. (Visit made as President-elect.) |
| Herbert Hoover | November 26, 1928 | El Salvador | Cutuco | Met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Martínez Suárez. (Visit made as President-elect.) |
| Herbert Hoover | November 27, 1928 | Nicaragua | Corinto | Met with President Adolfo Díaz and President-elect José María Moncada. (Visit made as President-elect.) |
| Herbert Hoover | November 28, 1928 | Costa Rica | San José | Met with President Cleto González Víquez. (Visit made as President-elect.) |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | July 11–12, 1934 | Panama | Panama City | Informal visit. |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | October 16, 1935 | Panama | Balboa | Informal visit with President Harmodio Arias Madrid. |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | August 4–5, 1938 | Panama | Balboa | Informal visit with President Juan Demóstenes Arosemena. |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | February 27, 1940 | Panama | Cristóbal, Balboa | Met informally with President Augusto Samuel Boyd. |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | July 21–23, 1956 | Panama | Panama City | Attended a meeting of the Presidents of the American Republics. |
| John F. Kennedy | March 18–20, 1963 | Costa Rica | San Jose | Attended Conference of Presidents of the Central American Republics. |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | July 8, 1968 | El Salvador | San Salvador | Attended meeting of the Presidents of Central American Republics. |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | July 8, 1968 | Nicaragua | Managua | Informal visit; met with President Anastasio Somoza Debayle. |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | July 8, 1968 | Costa Rica | San José | Informal visit; met with President José Joaquín Trejos Fernández. |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | July 8, 1968 | Honduras | San Pedro Sula | Informal visit; met with President Oswaldo López Arellano. |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | July 8, 1968 | Guatemala | Guatemala City | Informal visit; met with President Julio César Méndez Montenegro. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Ronald Reagan | December 4, 1982 | Honduras | San Pedro Sula | Official working visit; met with President Roberto Suazo Córdova and with Guatemalan President Efraín Ríos Montt. |
| George H. W. Bush | October 27–28, 1989 | Costa Rica | San José | Attended Hemispheric Summit Meeting. |
| George H. W. Bush | June 11, 1992 | Panama | Panama City | Met with President Guillermo Endara and delivered public addresses. |
| Bill Clinton | May 7–9, 1997 | Costa Rica | San José | Attended a Summit Meeting of Presidents of the Central American Republics. |
| Bill Clinton | March 8, 1999 | Nicaragua | Managua, Posoltega, El Porvenir | Discussed reconstruction aid with President Arnoldo Alemán and visited the El Porvenir Maya city site. |
| Bill Clinton | March 8–9, 1999 | Honduras | Soto Cano Air Base, Tegucigalpa | Discussed reconstruction aid with President Carlos Roberto Flores; addressed U.S. military personnel. |
| Bill Clinton | March 10, 1999 | El Salvador | San Salvador | Met with President Armando Calderón Sol and Addressed the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador. |
| Bill Clinton | March 10–11, 1999 | Guatemala | Guatemala City, Antigua | Attended Central American Summit meeting with leaders of seven Central American and Caribbean nations. |
| George W. Bush | March 24, 2002 | El Salvador | San Salvador | Attended a summit meeting with Central American heads of state. |
| George W. Bush | November 6–7, 2005 | Panama | Panama City | Met with President Martín Torrijos. |
| George W. Bush | 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. |
| Barack Obama | March 22–23, 2011 | El Salvador | San Salvador | Met with President Mauricio Funes. |
| Barack Obama | May 3–4, 2013 | Costa Rica | San José | Met with President Laura Chinchilla and leaders of the Central American Integration System. |
| Barack Obama | April 10–11, 2015 | Panama | Panama City | Attended the 7th Summit of the Americas. |
