Imane LechhebTuesday 28 July 2026 – 21:22
Colombia’s incoming government plans to close its embassies in Algeria and South Africa while keeping its diplomatic mission in Morocco, scaling back an African outreach launched under outgoing President Gustavo Petro.
President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella announced Sunday that his administration, which takes office on Aug. 7, will close 14 embassies around the world as part of what he described as an austerity drive aimed at making Colombia’s diplomatic service “modern, efficient and at the service of national interests.”
Among the African embassies set to close are Algeria, South Africa, Senegal, Ethiopia and Ghana. Colombia will retain embassies in Morocco, Egypt and Kenya, while opening a new mission in Nigeria.
The decision effectively rolls back Petro’s efforts to strengthen ties with Africa and the Global South by expanding Colombia’s diplomatic presence beyond its traditional partners.
De la Espriella said the closures, except for Cuba and Nicaragua, are driven by cost-cutting rather than a break in diplomatic relations.
He said Colombian citizens would continue receiving consular services through nearby embassies and other diplomatic arrangements.
“We cannot maintain such a costly structure that does not produce concrete results for the country,” the president-elect said, describing the move as an effort to optimize public spending.
The incoming administration also plans to close embassies in Azerbaijan, Barbados, the Czech Republic, Haiti, Hungary, Malaysia, Romania and several other countries.
The administration will merge Colombia’s separate diplomatic missions in Paris and Rome and shut down 15 consulates whose locations have not yet been disclosed.
The only complete diplomatic break announced is with Cuba and Nicaragua. De la Espriella said his government would have “no ties whatsoever with tyrannies,” reversing decades of Colombian engagement with both countries.
The new administration also plans to abandon Petro’s proposal to open an embassy in the Palestinian city of Ramallah and instead reopen Colombia’s embassy in Israel, which Petro severed diplomatic relations with during his presidency.
The embassy closures have drawn criticism from officials in the outgoing government, who argue the financial savings will be limited while reducing Colombia’s international reach.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir called the measure a “demagogic decision,” saying there is “no technical basis” for closing the embassies. He argued the cuts would mainly hurt Colombians living abroad by making consular services and voting more difficult to access.
AlgeriaColombiaDiplomacySouth Africa
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