Appointment of Senior Advisor Palmieri as Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. at Embassy Bogota

Office of the Spokesperson

Mr. Francisco Palmieri, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, will serve as Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim, at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, upon the departure of Ambassador Philip Goldberg.  Ambassador Goldberg is expected to assume duties as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea later this summer following his May 5 Senate confirmation.

Chargé d’Affaires Palmieri will continue U.S. engagement with Colombia across the broad bilateral agenda, including advancing health, prosperity, and economic cooperation; countering transnational crime and terrorism; implementation of Colombia’s Peace Accord; and commemorations of 200 years of bilateral relations.

Mr. Palmieri previously served as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs from January 2017 to November 2018.  Mr. Palmieri managed U.S. participation in the successful 2018 Summit of the Americas in Peru, U.S. engagement with the Lima Group unifying 15 Western Hemisphere democracies in a multilateral diplomatic response to the crisis in Venezuela, and the reorientation of U.S. foreign assistance in support of the Colombia peace process.  Mr. Palmieri most recently served as the Civilian Deputy and Foreign Policy Advisor at United States Southern Command.

The Department of State expresses its deep appreciation to Ambassador Goldberg for his distinguished public service in advancing the values and interests of the United States in Colombia and around the globe, and we look forward to his arrival in the Republic of Korea later this summer.