Relations between the Argentine Republic and the Republic of Colombia were established on May 8, 1825. Originally, the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance was established with the State of Buenos Aires, within the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. Argentina is a member of Mercosur whilst Colombia is an associate member. Both countries are members of the Organization of American States, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Latin American Integration Association and Organization of Ibero-American States.
History
During the 19th century and particularly during the 1820s, the relationship between these two states was active as the constant interaction between their respective leaders, Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín, was required to complete the total liberation of South America. As evidence of the above, the former Argentine president Bartolomé Mitre wrote the following in his Historia de San Martín y de la emancipación suamericana:
On July 27, 1822, the Guayaquil Interview took place, a private meeting between the heads of state of the sovereign nations of the Río de la Plata and Gran Colombia. On that occasion, they discussed the management of the Province of Guayaquil and what the final strategy should be to liberate Peru and Upper Peru (today Bolivia and parts of neighboring countries) that were home to the last manifestations of Spanish domination in the region.
Likewise, General San Martín requested help from Bolívar to conclude the Southern Campaigns, a fact that is supported by the following letter that he sent to the Colombian liberator in 1821:
Determined to join forces to combat the remaining Spaniards, the battles of Pichincha, Junín and Ayacucho were fought between 1822 and 1824. After the victory at Pichincha, the Gaceta Mercantil de Argentina wrote the following highlighting the Argentine contribution to the Southern District of Gran Colombia:
In the wars of Junín and Ayacucho, the United Liberation Army of Peru, which consisted of Peruvian, Chilean, Colombian and Argentine formations, faced the Royal Army of Peru. Among the squadrons contributed by Gran Colombia to said army were the Colombian Hussars and, on the part of Argentina, the Horse Grenadiers of the Andes. The same South American army later went to Bolivia to consolidate the independence of that country after neutralizing the Callao uprising and winning the Battle of Tumusla.
Other historical events that highlight the active interaction between the governments of Argentina and Colombia include: the Colombian occupation of Upper Peru, the Auxiliary Expedition of Santa Cruz to Quito, the establishment of the Protectorate of San Martín and the emergence of the Republic of Bolívar.
With the continent's freedom consolidated, the War for the Banda Oriental that resulted in the independence of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay was also the cause of political contacts between Argentina and Colombia. In particular, the Rioplatense government sought the help of Colombia, whose army occupied Bolivia at the time, to invade the Brazilian Empire in Mato Grosso. However, Bolívar refused because the United Provinces had declined to participate in the Congress of Panama.
Colombia had a passive participation in the War of the Triple Alliance when it showed its rejection of what happened to Paraguay during the conflict. Colombia contributed to the restoration of Paraguay's sovereignty. This weakened relations between Argentina and Colombia until 1912.
Colombia has maintained relations with Argentina, when it was the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, since 1823; this relationship was due to Latin American attempts at international recognition in order to achieve total independence from the Spanish Empire. The establishment of these diplomatic relations was established by the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance between the State of Buenos Aires and the Republic of Colombia, which was signed in 1823, entering into force two years later.
Colombia has therefore maintained a diplomatic representation in Buenos Aires and Argentina has done the same in Bogotá. In addition, Colombia has maintained an Honorary Consulate in the city of Mendoza since 2012.
Relations between Argentina and Colombia continued in the 20th century with the creation of the Union of American Republics, along with other countries. Both countries remained neutral in the First World War and were founders of the League of Nations. By the Second World War, both nations held different positions. On the one hand, Colombia maintained very close ties with the United States, so the declaration of war on the Axis powers was imminent; because of the commercial blockade, these relations changed destination to Washington and London, mainly to the latter; thus, Colombia and Argentina, along with Chile, were the only Latin American countries that declared war on Germany. To end the first half of the 20th century, Argentina and Colombia were two of the fifty founding countries of the United Nations and the Organization of American States.
In 1967, both foreign ministers met to sign agreements related to maritime and air taxation, and nuclear issues. Later, in 1972, the presidents of that time, Alejandro Agustín Lanusse of Argentina and Misael Pastrana Borrero of Colombia, met to sign another agreement; although these events occurred, the relations between both nations were not close due to the lack of agreement on the issue of democracy.
Colombia remained neutral during the Falklands War, but currently supports Argentina's claims. On the other hand, the rapprochements between Argentina and Colombia were embodied in the Contadora Group, which would end up becoming the Rio Group in 1990. Thus, in the last decade of the 20th century, Argentina changed its foreign policy towards the United States, demonstrating its support for Plan Colombia.
21st century In the first decade of the 21st century, relations between Argentina and Colombia were truncated by issues such as the lack of unconditional support from Colombia regarding the Falklands War during the latter part of the 20th century, which only showed a change during the Rio Group meeting in Cancun in 2010, when then-President Álvaro Uribe announced Colombia's support for the United Kingdom.
In 2013, the former commander general of the Armed Forces was appointed by President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón as the new Colombian ambassador to the Argentine Republic. On March 18, 2014, he presented his credentials. Civil society authorities reacted to this news, including the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, who asked the Argentine government to reject the appointment, since the former military man was accused of serious violations of human rights and that for the Argentine government, such violations are unacceptable. The Uribe general was also under investigation for crimes against humanity. He was involved in the case of "false positives".https://wwww.infobae.com/america/colombia/2021/12/01/victimas-de-falsos-positivos-rechazan-que-general-r-alejandro-navas-sea-gobernador-e-de-arauca He finally received his diplomatic approval.
In 2024, a diplomatic conflict arose when Argentine President Javier Milei insulted his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, leading to an international conflict and Colombia recalling its ambassador for consultations. In this regard, the embassy issued a statement stating that "Milei's statements "disregard and violate the deep ties of friendship, understanding and cooperation that have historically united both countries." Colombia subsequently decided to expel the Argentine diplomats from the embassy in Bogotá. After this, the Republic of Colombia and its government received solidarity from various political sectors and Argentine personalities who repudiated Milei's statements.
In parallel, Mexico considered imitating Colombia's sovereign decision and imitating the expulsion of Argentine diplomats following the comments of the Argentine president.
Significant issues Relations between Argentina and Colombia are based on regional integration through multilateral organizations and institutions; economic relations in trade, investment and tourism; educational and cultural cooperation; assistance in the fight against drug trafficking; and advice on port infrastructure and navigation.
Malvinas
During the escalation of the conflict, the Colombian president, Julio César Turbay, sent a letter to General Galtieri advising him that military action was not a good idea, so the official position of the head of state and the foreign ministry was to support Argentine claims if they did not opt for war. However, the government maintained neutrality in the war and constantly sent letters to Margaret Thatcher and Leopoldo Galtieri in which it asked to find a path to dialogue. However, in 1982, the countries that were part of the Andean Pact (Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia) proposed various forms of assistance to Argentina, such as a complete break in relations with the United Kingdom, the creation of a Latin American committee to assist Argentina, which sought to provide economic aid, and even evaluating the possibility of offering military aid, as proposed by Bolivia.
Under President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Colombia has renewed its support for Argentina in its claim to the Malvinas archipelago, perhaps due to the weight that comes with being the only state in the region not to be fully aligned with its neighbors. This fact was most evident during the II Latin American and Caribbean Summit of 2010 held in Cancun, Mexico, at this summit there was unanimous support for the Argentine claims. For the VI Summit of the Americas, held in 2012 in Cartagena de Indias, Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner decided to leave the venue prematurely because the issue of the Malvinas was avoided at the summit, for which the Colombian government issued a statement saying that it supports the Argentine cause. However, for Colombia it is essential to call for a dialogue between Great Britain and Argentina.
This was confirmed by the last meeting held by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs in September 2012, Héctor Timerman and María Ángela Holguín. At this meeting it was established that the best solution to this conflict is a dialogue between the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Changing the traditional position of neutrality, on June 10, 2019, President Iván Duque expressed, during his official visit to Argentina, that Colombia fully supports "the legitimate rights of the Argentine Republic in the sovereignty dispute with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, relating to the Malvinas, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime spaces." This statement put an end to the ambiguities in Colombia's position regarding the Falkland Islands and the country aligned itself with other South American nations to fully support Argentina.
Peace Process One day after the declaration announcing the peace talks between the Santos government and the FARC, on September 5, 2012, the Argentine government announced:
This was the first sign of support from the government for the peace talks. Then, on May 25, 2013, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Argentine activist Adolfo Pérez Esquivel issued a statement in which he said:
Finally, during President Cristina Fernández's visit to Bogotá on July 19, 2013, she spoke of the transformation of Colombia based on the willingness to change the situation of violence that Colombia has experienced; she also spoke of how essential this is for the country and that those who oppose this process can be classified as foolish. This last statement could be understood as an interference in the internal affairs of the Andean country, but it did not have much significance.