last president to visit south america

• Society ›

Historical Data

• Number of U.S. presidential visits to each country 1906-2021, by president

International significance

Twenty-first century, number of times each country was visited by the sitting u.s. president (officially, unofficially or while vacationing) between 1906 and february 2021.

Additional Information

Show sources information Show publisher information Use Ask Statista Research Service

United States

1906 to 2021

Occasions where U.S. presidents visited the same country twice on the same trip have been recorded as two separate visits. All visits to current and former British and French colonies have been recorded separately. *Country-specific notes are as follows (in alphabetical order): Algeria : only when the country was known as French Algeria; no president has returned since it became independent. Antigua & Barbuda : only when the country was a part of the British Leeward Islands; no president has returned since it became independent. Belarus : includes one visit to the country while it was a part of the Soviet Union. Canada : includes Franklin D. Roosevelt's visits to Newfoundland, before it joined Canada in 1949 (one was part of a wider tour of Canada, while one visit was a holiday to Newfoundland only). Croatia : includes Nixon's trip to Zagreb while Croatia was a part of Yugoslavia. Czechia : includes George H. W. Bush's visit to Prague while it was a part of Czechoslovakia. France : does not include trips to French overseas territories of Martinique or Saint Martin, which have been recorded separately. Germany : includes West Germany between 1949 and 1990; no president ever visited East Germany. Russia : includes visits to the country while it was a part of the Soviet Union, including Roosevelt's attendance at the Yalta Conference in Crimea in 1945. Senegal : includes Franklin D. Roosevelt's trip to Dakar, French West Africa during the Second World War. Serbia : was only visited when the country was a part of Yugoslavia; subsequent trips to the region have been to Kosovo only. Vietnam : includes visits to South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. Ukraine : includes visits to the country while it was a part of the Soviet Union (including Nixon's trip to Oreanda, Crimea). The majority of the information came from the individual entries for each president on the linked source. Data for President Trump is incomplete on the Department of State website, therefore a number of other sources have been used to compile this information.

Other statistics on the topic U.S. presidents 1789-2021

• Most common names of U.S. presidents 1789-2021
• Votes for presidential impeachment in the U.S. senate in 1868-2021
• Previous roles and professions of U.S. presidents 1789-2021
• Number of foreign languages spoken by U.S. presidents 1789-2021

• Immediate access to statistics, forecasts & reports
• Usage and publication rights
• Download in various formats

You only have access to basic statistics.

• Instant access  to 1m statistics
• Download  in XLS, PDF & PNG format
• Detailed  references

Business Solutions including all features.

Statistics on " U.S. presidents 1789-2021 "

• Age of US Presidents when first taking office 1789-2021
• Share of electoral and popular votes by each United States president 1789-2020
• Party affiliation of U.S. presidents 1789-2021
• Number of executive orders signed by U.S. presidents 1789-2024
• Heights of all U.S. presidents 1789-2021
• Weights of all U.S. presidents 1789-2021
• Number of U.S. presidents born in each state 1789-2021
• Universities attended by U.S. presidents by level of achievement 1751-1991
• Highest military rank held by U.S. presidents 1789-1973
• Length of United States President's terms 1789-2021
• Length of inaugural addresses of U.S. Presidents 1789-2021
• Number of countries visited by U.S. presidents 1906-2021
• Length of life and cause of death of U.S. presidents 1799-2023
• Number of assassinations and attempts to assassinate U.S. presidents 1835-2005
• Number of U.S. presidents who died in each state 1799-2018
• Number of slaves owned by U.S. presidents 1789-1877
• Historians' ranking of U.S. presidents 2021

Other statistics that may interest you U.S. presidents 1789-2021

• Basic Statistic Age of US Presidents when first taking office 1789-2021
• Basic Statistic Share of electoral and popular votes by each United States president 1789-2020
• Basic Statistic Party affiliation of U.S. presidents 1789-2021
• Basic Statistic Number of executive orders signed by U.S. presidents 1789-2024
• Basic Statistic Most common names of U.S. presidents 1789-2021
• Basic Statistic Heights of all U.S. presidents 1789-2021
• Basic Statistic Weights of all U.S. presidents 1789-2021
• Basic Statistic Number of U.S. presidents born in each state 1789-2021
• Basic Statistic Universities attended by U.S. presidents by level of achievement 1751-1991
• Basic Statistic Number of foreign languages spoken by U.S. presidents 1789-2021
• Basic Statistic Highest military rank held by U.S. presidents 1789-1973
• Basic Statistic Previous roles and professions of U.S. presidents 1789-2021

Time in office

• Basic Statistic Length of United States President's terms 1789-2021
• Basic Statistic Length of inaugural addresses of U.S. Presidents 1789-2021
• Basic Statistic Votes for presidential impeachment in the U.S. senate in 1868-2021
• Basic Statistic Number of countries visited by U.S. presidents 1906-2021
• Basic Statistic Number of U.S. presidential visits to each country 1906-2021, by president

Death and legacy

• Basic Statistic Length of life and cause of death of U.S. presidents 1799-2023
• Basic Statistic Number of assassinations and attempts to assassinate U.S. presidents 1835-2005
• Basic Statistic Number of U.S. presidents who died in each state 1799-2018
• Basic Statistic Number of slaves owned by U.S. presidents 1789-1877
• Basic Statistic Historians' ranking of U.S. presidents 2021

Further related statistics

• Basic Statistic Media attitudes towards U.S. presidents 2017
• Premium Statistic Positive news stories about Presidents in the media U.S. 1993-2017
• Basic Statistic Mexico: public opinion about Trump 2017
• Basic Statistic Americans' view of presidential traits in the United States in 2014
• Premium Statistic U.S. change in Congressional seats of president's party midterm elections 1934-2022
• Premium Statistic White House Correspondents Dinner viewership 2017
• Basic Statistic The richest U.S. presidents by net worth in 2010
• Basic Statistic U.S. presidents with the highest health score as of 2018
• Basic Statistic International treaties signed by Romania 2015-2019
• Premium Statistic U.S. Presidents ranked by greatness score 2018
• Premium Statistic Share of adults who think the president has too much power U.S. 2020
• Premium Statistic Share of adults who think the president has too much power by party U.S. 2020
• Basic Statistic Interest in presidential memoirs in the U.S. 2017
• Basic Statistic Number of expelled Russian diplomats 2000-2023, by country
• Premium Statistic National identity affiliation among respondents in Taiwan 2020, by political party
• Premium Statistic Opinion on Taiwan's relations with U.S. and mainland China in Taiwan 2020, by party
• Basic Statistic Number of diplomats expelled from Russia 2000-2023, by country
• Premium Statistic Opinion on Taiwan's relations with U.S. and mainland China in Taiwan 2020, by age

Further Content: You might find this interesting as well

• Media attitudes towards U.S. presidents 2017
• Positive news stories about Presidents in the media U.S. 1993-2017
• Mexico: public opinion about Trump 2017
• Americans' view of presidential traits in the United States in 2014
• U.S. change in Congressional seats of president's party midterm elections 1934-2022
• White House Correspondents Dinner viewership 2017
• The richest U.S. presidents by net worth in 2010
• U.S. presidents with the highest health score as of 2018
• International treaties signed by Romania 2015-2019
• U.S. Presidents ranked by greatness score 2018
• Share of adults who think the president has too much power U.S. 2020
• Share of adults who think the president has too much power by party U.S. 2020
• Interest in presidential memoirs in the U.S. 2017
• Number of expelled Russian diplomats 2000-2023, by country
• National identity affiliation among respondents in Taiwan 2020, by political party
• Opinion on Taiwan's relations with U.S. and mainland China in Taiwan 2020, by party
• Number of diplomats expelled from Russia 2000-2023, by country
• Opinion on Taiwan's relations with U.S. and mainland China in Taiwan 2020, by age

• Historical Documents

Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, American Republics, Volume V

Vice president richard m. nixon’s trip to south america, april 27–may 15, 1958, 42. letter from the secretary of state to the vice president.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 033.1100–NI/3–658. Confidential. Drafted by Terry B. Sanders, Jr. , on March 4.

43. Editorial Note

44. memorandum from the acting assistant secretary of state for inter-american affairs ( snow ) to the secretary of state.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 033. 1100–NI/5–958. Drafted by Sanders .

45. Message From the President to the Vice President, at Quito

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 033.1100–NI/5–958. Unclassified; Priority. Transmitted in telegram 412 to Quito, May 9, with the notation “ Codel Nixon .” Telegram 412, which is the source text, was drafted by Frank J. Devine ; cleared with Sanders , Sandy M. Pringle , Joseph A. Silberstein , Orville C. Anderson , James C. Hagerty , and Fisher Howe ; and initialed by Snow . It was repeated to Lima and to Paris for the Secretary. The text of the message was preceded by the paragraph: “Acting Secretary today telephoned following message from President to Vice President Nixon . White House plans Washington release 11:45 EDT this morning.”

46. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Among the Minister-Counselor of the Embassy in Venezuela ( Burrows ), the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs ( Rubottom ) in Caracas, and the Deputy Director of the Office of South American Affairs ( Sanders ) in Washington, May 13, 1958, 2 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 033.1100–NI/5–1358. Official Use Only. Drafted by Sanders .

47. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Between the Secretary of State and the President’s Press Secretary ( Hagerty ), Washington, May 13, 1958, 3 p.m.

Source: Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, White House Telephone Conversations. Transcribed by Bernau .

48. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Between Captain Kefauver, U.S. Navy, and the Deputy Director of the Office of South American Affairs ( Sanders ), Washington, May 13, 1958, 3 p.m.

Source: Department of State, ARA / EST Files: Lot 61 D 332, Vice President Nixon ’s Trip—General. Confidential. Drafted by Sanders .

49. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Between the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs ( Rubottom ) in Caracas and the Acting Assistant Secretary of State ( Snow ) in Washington, May 13, 1958, 4:30 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 033.1100–NI/5–1358. Official Use Only. Drafted by Alice W. Bariums. Initialed by Snow .

50. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Among the Secretary of State, the President’s Press Secretary ( Hagerty ), and the President’s Staff Secretary ( Goodpaster ), Washington, May 13, 1958, 5:14 p.m.

51. memorandum of a telephone conversation between the assistant secretary of state for inter-american affairs ( rubottom ) in caracas and the acting assistant secretary of state ( snow ) in washington, may 13, 1958, 9:15 p.m..

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 033.1100–NI/5–858. Official Use Only. Drafted by Mary E. O’Brien on May 21.

52. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Among Captain Bettinger and Admiral Miller of the Department of the Navy and the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs ( Snow ), Washington, May 13, 1958, 10:55 p.m.

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 033.1100–NI/5–858. Official Use Only. Drafted by Bariums on May 22.

53. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Among the Secretary of State, the President’s Press Secretary ( Hagerty ), and the President, Washington, May 14, 1958, 10:14 a.m.

54. memorandum from the acting assistant secretary of state for inter-american affairs ( snow ) to the secretary of state.

Source: Department of State, Presidential Cabinet Meetings: Lot 68 D 350, CP –7 Eisenhower Cabinet Material—1958. Official Use Only. Drafted by Snow and Sanders .

55. Minutes of the Cabinet Meeting, White House, Washington, May 16, 1958, 9:05–9:50 a.m.

Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Cabinet Series. Confidential. Prepared by Minnich .

56. Memorandum of Discussion at the 366th Meeting of the National Security Council, Washington, May 22, 1958, 9:03 a.m.

Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records. Top Secret. Drafted by Gleason on May 23. The time of the meeting is from the President’s Daily Appointment Book. ( ibid .)

57. Memorandum From the Secretary of State’s Staff Assistant ( Boster ) to the Secretary to the Cabinet ( Patterson )

Source: Department of State, Presidential Cabinet Meetings: Lot 68 D 350, CP –7 Eisenhower Cabinet Material—1958. Cabinet Paper—Privileged.

• The date is handwritten on the source text. ↩

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Biden Hosts Leaders of South American Nations for an Economic Summit

One goal is to help bolster economies of countries across the region so they can better absorb the millions of migrants who are fleeing poverty, political instability and natural disasters.

By Michael D. Shear

Reporting from Washington

President Biden hosted officials from 11 countries in the Western Hemisphere on Friday for a meeting intended in part to address the historic flow of migrants in the region by bolstering the economies of Mexico, Ecuador, Panama and other countries.

During the two-hour meeting at the White House, Mr. Biden announced new efforts to work with the Inter-American Development Bank to help countries in the region modernize their digital and physical infrastructure and to work with countries to help entrepreneurs start new businesses across the hemisphere.

He also announced initiatives intended to support supply chains across the region in areas like clean energy, semiconductors and medical supplies — helping countries in the Americas lessen their reliance on China and other countries around the globe.

“In each of our countries our people are young, dynamic and diverse, poised to seize the future,” Mr. Biden said at the opening of the meeting in the East Room. “I think they really are. All we need to do is keep going, keep delivering on a positive vision we all share for a region that is secure, prosperous and democratic.”

One goal, according to administration officials, is to help boost the economies of countries across the region so they can better absorb the millions of migrants who are fleeing poverty, political instability and natural disasters.

Dealing with the impact of migration at the border with Mexico has been one of Mr. Biden’s biggest challenges since taking office at the beginning of 2021. Record numbers of migrants have tried to cross into the United States illegally, many from Venezuela and other struggling nations.

Republicans have seized on the issue as one of their primary attacks on Mr. Biden’s administration. They say the president has failed to be tough enough at the border and have accused the White House of putting U.S. national security at risk by not employing harsher measures to stop people from entering the country.

But the president’s struggle to prevent migrants from entering has also created division and anger among Democratic officials in states where the cost of caring for migrants is putting strains on their budgets. Republican governors in Texas and Florida have bused thousands of migrants to cities led by Democrats to highlight the issue.

On Thursday, Democratic mayors from several of the largest cities in the United States traveled to Washington, D.C., to urge White House officials and lawmakers to do more to allow the migrants to work legally in the country.

“All of the newcomers arriving in our cities are looking for the chance to work, and every day we get calls from business leaders who have unfilled jobs and want to hire these newcomers,” the mayors wrote to Mr. Biden. “The only obstacle to us helping them help themselves is federal restrictions on work authorization.”

Last month, Mr. Biden took steps to increase the number of migrants who can work legally in the United States. But White House officials said that the meeting on Friday was an opportunity to work on longer-term efforts that could minimize the number of migrants who try to come to the United States.

Mr. Biden announced the creation of the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity during a summit of the region’s leaders in Los Angeles in the summer of 2022. The members of the Americas Partnership include Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Uruguay.

White House officials said Mexico and Panama were represented by their foreign ministers on Friday. The leaders of the other nine countries were at the White House.

Several of the countries whose top officials attended the meeting on Friday have already taken in many of the migrants who are fleeing from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti or other struggling economies. One White House official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the meeting before it took place, said Mr. Biden wanted to reward those countries with additional economic help.

The official said that when other countries take in migrants from the region, it lessens the burden on the United States. The goal of the meeting on Friday, the official said, is to help those countries do more of that.

“All across the region, entrepreneurs are ready to break out,” Mr. Biden said. “Investors are changing the way we think. Workers are ready to roll up their sleeves. We are going to make sure they have the skills and the resources they need in order to succeed.”

Michael D. Shear is a White House correspondent for The New York Times, covering President Biden and his administration. He has reported on politics for more than 30 years. More about Michael D. Shear

Blinken to Travel to South America and Meet the Presidents of Brazil, Argentina

The secretary of state is set to hold meetings with luiz inácio lula da silva and javier milei, both of whom are making international headlines.

• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Share on Pocket

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to South America on Tuesday, where he is set to meet the presidents of Brazil and Argentina and attend a gathering of G20 foreign ministers.

Blinken will be in the region between February 20 and 23. According to the Department of State, his conversation with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will mainly revolve around the countries' partnership for workers right and cooperation on energy transition.

Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols said he expected a "robust" conversation on issues of global peace and security between the delegations. "I think it's going to be a dynamic conversation," Nichols told reporters in a phone briefing reported by Reuters .

Lula's take on global peace and security jumped to the top of the global conversation in the past hours, as the Brazilian president was declared persona non grata on Monday, following statements in which he compared Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip to the Holocaust.

The diplomatic clash began on Sunday with Lula's statements in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where he was attending an African Union summit. "What's happening in the Gaza Strip is not a war, it's a genocide," he said, adding that a "war between a highly-prepared army and women and children" didn't have precedent in history except for when "Hitler decided to kill the Jews."

That led the government to call the Brazilian ambassador in the country, Federico Mayer, to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem. There, Foreign Minister Israel Katz told him that Lula is "persona non grata in Israel until he retracts his statements." Later, Lula recalled his ambassador to Israel for talks, Reuters reported .

Following the G20 meeting, Blinken will make his way to Buenos Aires to meet with recently sworn in Javier Milei, a right-wing economist who is implementing a shock therapy aimed at stabilizing the country's ailing economy.

According to the Department of State, Blinken and Milei will discuss " sustainable economic growth, our shared commitment to human rights and democratic governance, critical minerals, and enhancing trade and investment ."

Milei, on his end, has been making international headlines as the country's economy continues to spiral. After climbing to the top of the somber global inflation ranking, with a rate of over 250%, a non-governmental report showed that the poverty rate reached 57.4% in January.

According to the Argentine Catholic University's respected Social Debt Observatory, it's the highest figure since 2004, when the entity started publishing reports. A few years earlier, in the aftermath of Argentina's economic collapse in 2001, the Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales said that 66% of Argentines were living under the poverty line.

"Our perspective is that this will keep getting worse in February," the observatory's Director Agustín Salvia told the Buenos Aires Herald . "The crisis is about to explode in systemic terms."

According to the report, poverty rose from 44.7% in the third quarter of last year to almost 50% in December before soaring to 57.4% in January. Milei has rejected any responsibility for the jump, claiming the entire blame falls on the previous government's reckless public spending.

© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

UN Climate Agency Chief Warns Humanity it has Two Years Left to "Save the World"

Over two-thirds of latinos oppose abortion bans, especially in states with ballot debates, biden planning to limit southern border crossings this month through executive order, amid florida's blocking of heat protection for workers, these tomato pickers achieved progress.

Timeline of US presidential visits to India

Before Donald Trump, six US presidents have visited India, with Barack Obama the only one to make two official trips.

New Delhi, India – Donald Trump has embarked on his maiden visit to India becoming the seventh US president to visit the South Asian country.

He is accompanied by a high-level delegation, as well as his wife First Lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Keep reading

‘political spectatorship’: modi rolls out red carpet for trump, as trump heads to india, a trade deal appears elusive, at us rally, modi backs trump, takes aim at pakistan.

Trump arrived on Monday in Ahmedabad, the largest city in the western state of Gujarat, where he addressed a crowd of more than 100,000 Indians at a cricket stadium.

The event was called “Namaste Trump” (Hello Trump), in reciprocation to the “Howdy Modi” extravaganza Trump hosted last year for the Indian PM in the US city of Houston.

Ties between the two countries have improved greatly after the end of the Cold War, during which Washington leaned towards India’s rival, Pakistan, but has embraced India as a strategic partner against China in recent decades.

Barack Obama, Trump’s predecessor, is the only US president to have made two official visits to India.

We take a look at previous visits by the US presidents:

Dwight D Eisenhower – 1959

Dwight D Eisenhower in 1959 was the first US president to visit India. His visit was during the tenure of the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Eisenhower received a warm welcome and was greeted with a 21-gun salute when he landed in the capital, New Delhi. Huge crowds lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the 34th US president in his open-top car.

Besides delivering a public speech at New Delhi’s Ramlila ground, Eisenhower addressed members of both Houses of Parliament. The four-day trip included a stopover in his “dream place”, the Taj Mahal, which was built by Mughal ruler Shah Jahan in the 16th century.

The trip was billed a success and considered a landmark event in US-India relations as it came early in the Cold War, during which the US and Pakistan had become close allies.

Richard M Nixon – 1969

Richard M Nixon visited India on July 31, 1969. Unlike Eisenhower, Nixon spent less than a day in India as the trip was largely meant to reduce tensions between him and then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Two years later, during the India and Pakistan war of 1971, which lead to the creation of Bangladesh, the US sided with its Cold War ally, Pakistan.

According to tapes declassified by the US State Department, Nixon had reportedly told the White House that Indians were “slippery, treacherous people”.

Jimmy Carter – 1978

Jimmy Carter came to India in January 1978, when the Janata Party’s Morarji Desai was the prime minister.

During his three-day visit, Carter addressed India’s parliament and held several meetings with Indian politicians. Carter visited a village near New Delhi, bringing a television set as a gift.

His visit was meant to break the ice between New Delhi and Washington, especially against the backdrop of the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence and India’s nuclear test of 1974.

However, he was not able to convince Prime Minister Desai to give up India’s nuclear ambitions, a development that irritated the US.

Bill Clinton – 2000

Bill Clinton, the 42nd US president, visited India in March 2000, more than two decades after the last visit by a US president.

His trip during the prime ministership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee came after a prolonged lull in the relations between the two countries. It also came after India opened its economy for foreign investors in the 1990s.

Clinton’s visit signified the beginning of closer US-India strategic and economic ties. During the 1999 war between Pakistan and India, the US under Clinton sided with India, the first time it had supported India against Pakistan.

New Delhi-based foreign policy expert Pramit Pal Chaudhuri said it was President Clinton who restarted India-US relations.

“Before Clinton, no US president had visited India for 20 years. Clinton in many ways re-engaged with India after two decades, signalling that America was taking India seriously one more time for number of reasons; nuclear test, economic growth and so on,” he said.

“Bush took it to the highest possible levels with a nuclear deal and Obama consolidated on the strategic side,” said Chaudhuri, who is also the foreign editor at Hindustan Times newspaper.

George W Bush – 2006

George W Bush visited New Delhi in 2006 when the US was being condemned worldwide for its 2003 invasion of Iraq. His trip was met with countrywide protests, with left-wing parliamentarians boycotting his address.

However, the three-day trip boosted the strategic relationship between the two countries, especially in matters of trade and nuclear technology. Bush and then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh finalised the framework of the nuclear deal that ended New Delhi’s isolation from the nuclear equipment suppliers market.

Michael Kugelman, South Asia senior associate at The Wilson Center, said the US-India relationship improved exponentially since the early 1990s, and especially since the early 2000s.

“The civil nuclear accord [under President Bush] was a milestone and, from that point, the relationship has really taken off -though it has also been saddled by outsize and unmet expectations.”

Barack Obama – 2010 and 2015

Barack Obama is the only US president to make two official visits to India. On his first visit, Obama landed in Mumbai instead of New Delhi as a show of solidarity following the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, which killed 166 people.

During the trip, he backed India’s bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. Obama and Singh, prime minister at the time, also signed trade deals worth $10bn and agreed to boost defence and national security ties.

Obama visited India again in 2015 as the chief guest on Republic Day under the administration of Prime Minister Modi.

During the trip, the Democratic president made comments on religious freedom in the country, saying “India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith”.

Donald Trump – 2020

Donald Trump is the seventh US president to visit India, where he was given a warm welcome.

A personal rapport has developed between Indian Prime Minister Modi and Trump, both of whom have used the theatrics of diplomacy to strike a chord with their respective domestic audiences.

Both right-wing leaders have been criticized for pursuing an Islamophobic agenda – Trump for his Muslim ban and Modi for blocking naturalisation for Muslim immigrants and asylum seekers.

The US is India’s second-largest trading partner after China, with annual bilateral trade going from $11bn in 1995 to $142bn in 2018, according to official US data. But the two countries have been wrangling over a trade deal as Trump pushed for more concessions from New Delhi. 

The main focus of this trip will be on all the spectacle and on all the strong chemistry between Trump and Modi. But there's a strategic dimension to it as well by  Michael Kugelman, South Asia senior associate at The Wilson Center

“To be sure, the main focus of this trip will be on all the spectacle and on all the strong chemistry between Trump and Modi. But there’s a strategic dimension to it as well,” said Kugelman from The Wilson Center.

Foreign policy expert Chaudhuri said “Trump’s visit has been a missing piece in Modi’s foreign policy” and this visit has “fulfilled that space”.

He said that by coming to India despite the fact that there is not going to be a trade deal, Trump signals to the rest of the US government that “he takes the US-India relationship seriously and he expects them to move forward on the other issues be it defence and diplomacy.”

Safiya Ghori Ahmad, South Asia director at Washington, DC-based McLarty Associates said it would interesting to see “the deliverables” from the trip.

“I do hope that we see more than a rally, and actually see solutions to long-standing economic issues that impact US companies,” Ahmad said.

Clinton Makes Historic Visit to Vietnam

H A N O I, Vietnam, Nov. 16 -- The American president who opposed the war in Vietnam and avoided military service here three decades ago, arrived in Hanoi today on a mission to redefine U.S. relations.

Ahead of his arrival, President Clinton said he hoped his presence “ opens a new page in our relations … hopefully one that will put an end to the divisions. ”

It was nearly midnight in Hanoi when Air Force One landed so his official welcome to the capital had to wait until Friday morning. But the Clinton schedule in Vietnam includes very little time with its communist leadership.

No other U.S. leader has ever officially visited Hanoi and he is the first to visit Vietnam since U.S. troops withdrew from the country in 1975.

Richard Nixon was the last serving president to visit theregion when he traveled to the former U.S.-backed South Vietnam in July 1969 when the war was raging. Clinton, the present-day U.S. commander-in-chief, avoided the conflict.

Clinton ’ s only focus on the past is for a “ full accounting ” of the American servicemen still missing in action since the war.

He is scheduled to observe work Saturday at the excavation site of an America jet-fighter which crashed in 1967 near Hanoi.

The jet was piloted by Air Force Capt. Lawrence Evert. Clinton has invited Evert ’ s two sons to join him at the site.

Clinton is seeking as much exposure as possible to Vietnam ’ s younger generations, too young to remember the war.

In the 1970s, Clinton avoided the draft and protested the U.S. presence in Vietnam.

On Friday, Clinton will deliver a major presidential address at Hanoi University, to be broadcast live on national television.

Hillary Charms Hanoi

But several hours before the president arrived, the Clinton charm had already worked its magic on the streets of Vietnam.

Drawing screaming crowds of hundreds of local people, First Lady and Senator-elect Hillary Clinton arrived in Hanoi hours before the president. She flew in directly from Israel, where she attended the funeral of Leah Rabin, widow of assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on Wednesday.

• Transition Guide (Opens in new window)
• Subscribe Now (Opens in new window)

Your Military

• Army Times (Opens in new window)
• Navy Times (Opens in new window)
• Air Force Times (Opens in new window)
• Marine Corps Times (Opens in new window)
• Pentagon & Congress
• Defense News (Opens in new window)
• Israel-Palestine
• Extremism & Disinformation
• Afghanistan
• Benefits Guide (Opens in new window)
• Family Life
• Military Pay Center
• Military Retirement
• Military Benefits
• Discount Depot
• Gear Scout (Opens in new window)
• Military Culture
• Military Fitness
• Military Movies & Video Games
• Military Sports
• Pay It Forward (Opens in new window)
• Military History
• Salute to Veterans
• Black Military History
• Congressional Veterans Caucus (Opens in new window)
• Military Appreciation Month
• Vietnam Vets & Rolling Thunder
• Service Members of the Year (Opens in new window)
• World War I
• Honor the Fallen (Opens in new window)
• Hall of Valor (Opens in new window)
• Create an Obituary (Opens in new window)
• Medals & Misfires
• Installation Guide (Opens in new window)
• Battle Bracket
• America's Military
• Task Force Violent
• CFC Givers Guide
• Newsletters (Opens in new window)
• Early Bird Brief
• MCON (Opens in new window)
• Long-Term Care Partners
• Navy Federal

In photos: US presidents visiting war zones

President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion. The president’s visit marked the first time in modern history that a U.S. commander-in-chief visited an active war zone without a U.S. military presence.

During his visit, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and pledged another multi-million dollar military aid package to Ukraine, which will include more ammunition for U.S.-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and howitzers, as well as Javelins, anti-armor systems and air surveillance radars.

While his particular visit was unique, given the lack of U.S. military personnel present, Biden’s journey does add him to a long list of U.S. presidents who have made an appearance in war zones.

Presidents Day: Biden holds surprise meeting with Zelensky in Kyiv

The u.s. president spent more than five hours in the ukrainian capital..

Abraham Lincoln

During the Civil War, with Confederate troops invading Washington in July 1864, Abraham Lincoln visited the nearby battlefield at Fort Stevens . It is considered one of the only times in American history where an incumbent president came under direct fire from an enemy combatant.

Franklin Roosevelt

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, left, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill are shown at the Allied conference in Casablanca, Morocco, Jan. 1943. (AP Photo)

Amid the height of World War II, President Roosevelt left the White House for various overseas conferences and to visit Allied military installations.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower as he departs in his light plane from South Korea on Dec. 4, 1952. (AP Photo)

The president-elect visited troops who were only recently pulled out of the line after months of hard fighting.

Lyndon B. Johnson

President Lyndon B. Johnson addresses troops at Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, in Oct. 1967 during the Vietnam War. (AP Photo)

President Johnson stopped by Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, in 1967 after a visit to the country a year earlier.

Richard Nixon

President Richard Nixon with soldiers during his visit in South Vietnam, July 1969. (AP Photo)

Before U.S. forces withdrew from Vietnam, President Richard Nixon made his way overseas to the country for a brief visit.

Ronald Reagan

President Ronald Reagan on Nov. 13, 1983. (Scott Stewart/AP)

President Reagan observed positions in North Korea from the South Korean side of the demilitarized zone in 1983.

George H. W. Bush

President George H.W. Bush prepares to speak following his arrival in camp for a Thanksgiving Day visit during Operation Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia Nov. 25, 1990. (Spc. Daniel Jackson/Army)

After U.S. troops deployed in 1990 for Operation Desert Shield, the elder Bush made a Thanksgiving visit to military personnel in Saudi Arabia.

Bill Clinton

President Bill Clinton in South Korea plays the sax for a cheering crowd of American soldiers at Camp Casey in South Korea Sunday, July 11, 1993. (Yun Jai-Hyoung/AP)

In addition to a visit with U.S. troops in South Korea, President Bill Clinton spent time with military personnel in Bosnia in both 1996 and 1997.

George W. Bush

President George W. Bush carry a platter of turkey and fixings as he visits U.S. troops for Thanksgiving in Baghdad, Thursday, Nov 27, 2003. (Anja Niedringhaus/AP)

President George Bush, who oversaw the deployment of U.S. troops to both Afghanistan and Iraq, made numerous visits to both war zones during his two terms in office. He also made multiple trips to South Korea.

Barack Obama

President Barack Obama is applauded by military personnel during his visit to Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, April 7, 2009. (Charles Dharapak/AP)

During his eight years in office, President Barack Obama stopped to see military personnel in Iraq as well as in Afghanistan and South Korea.

Donald Trump

President Donald Trump addressing members of the military during a surprise Thanksgiving visit, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019, at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. (Alex Brandon/AP)

President Donald Trump visited troops overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan during his term. In 2019, he also made history at the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea before visiting troops at Osan Air Base.

Jonathan is a staff writer and editor of the Early Bird Brief newsletter for Military Times. Follow him on Twitter @lehrfeld_media

In Other News

Ukraine will soon be outgunned without help, top Europe general says

The top general for u.s. forces in europe told congress wednesday that ukraine may be outgunned 10 to 1 by russia within a matter of weeks..

Air Force veteran apparently joined Russian army to flee charges in US

Video surfaced that appears to show vet wilmer puello-mota in russia, expressing support for the country’s war against ukraine..

USS George Washington to deploy to South America

The george washington is also poised to return to yokosuka, japan, as the navy’s only forward-deployed carrier later this year..

Bird smacks into Marine F-35B after takeoff, prompting pilot to land

Between 2004 and 2019, the marine corps recorded more than 1,500 aviation incidents involving bird or animal strikes..

Young veterans more likely to get dangerous jobs than civilian peers

Young veterans are more likely to work in jobs with significant physical demands and health risks than civilian peers, new research found..

How Many Presidents Visited All 50 States Before Leaving Office?

By mark mancini | apr 26, 2015.

As you may have read, President Obama raised some eyebrows earlier this month when it was reported that he has only visited 49 out of 50 states since his first term began. The lone outlier? South Dakota.

“We’d always love to have him,” said ex-senator Tom Daschle, who suggested one of the state’s nine Indian reservations for a stop on Obama’s next road trip. Back in 2013, South Dakota’s department of tourism officially invited him over, noting “your wife and daughters have visited Mount Rushmore … now it is your turn.” And  don’t miss John Oliver’s brilliant take on Obama’s neglect of South Dakota (complete with a phony, somewhat NSFW ad).

A little over a week after the comedian’s bit aired, Obama announced that he would indeed be dropping by Watertown, S.D., where he’ll deliver a commencement address at Lake Area Technical Institute. By exploring the great states of South Dakota, North Carolina, Idaho, and Utah this year, Obama will soon become only the fourth sitting president in U.S. history to have set foot in all 50 states.

WHERE THE OTHER PRESIDENTS STAND

FDR would be on this exclusive list, if it weren’t for the fact that Alaska and Hawaii didn’t become states until 1959. Fittingly, the longest-serving POTUS managed to explore—or at the very least pass through—those two territories and all 48 extant states during his twelve-year stint in the White House. 

“Unfortunately,” says archive specialist Jim Armistead of the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum , “no one has compiled a list of all the states which President Truman visited while he was in office.” Still, his public papers reveal that at least 40 hosted him at one point during his two terms. Furthermore, Armistead notes that before Hawaii joined the union, Truman stopped there “on his way to Wake Island for a conference with General Douglas MacArthur in 1950.” As for America’s other soon-to-be state, he considered taking an Alaskan vacation during the summer of ‘46, but ultimately opted for a New England getaway instead.

Dwight Eisenhower was technically the first president to serve all 50 states—under his watch, two new stars were added to our flag after Alaska and Hawaii joined the union. But despite that—as well as Eisenhower’s part in the creation of America’s interstate highway system —there were a few states that the 34th president never got around to seeing before he left D.C.

For example, Idaho , which got snubbed by Ike and his successor. In John F. Kennedy’s defense, he did manage a visit to every single state at some point (just not during his tragically-short administration). Next up was Lyndon Johnson, who made time for Idaho as chief executive, but neglected places like North Dakota .

Then came Richard Nixon. One day in 1971 , “Tricky Dick” met with Republican fundraisers at a Delaware estate. As unassuming as this little foray was, it capped a remarkable accomplishment. By crossing Delaware off his list, Nixon had done something that no previous president had—he’d checked out all 50 states while in office, and did so in less than three years.

According to his press secretary Ronald L. Ziegler, Nixon firmly believed in getting out and meeting everyday people—as his travels purportedly demonstrated. “He has done that,” said Ziegler . “I think he will continue to do that.” 

Unfortunately, Nixon’s sudden, scandalous departure didn’t give Gerald Ford much time to work with, and he couldn’t keep the fifty-state visitation streak alive. (Just like Johnson, North Dakota was among those Ford missed). Jimmy Carter also fell short during his one-term presidency, failing to reach such states as South Dakota and Vermont .

Let’s pause here for a moment, because the syrup-scented home of Ben & Jerry’s really deserves a shout-out. Historically, presidential visits to Vermont have been quite scarce. Before Obama was sworn in, three of the previous five commanders-in-chief never came calling on the New England gem. After Carter overlooked it, Vermont went on to become one of only four states that Ronald Reagan passed over (along with Maine, Rhode Island, and Delaware). Even so, the whole quartet voted for him in 1984—and all but Rhode Island had done so in 1980.

George H.W. Bush did in a single term what Reagan couldn’t in two, becoming the first president since Nixon to see every state. Bill Clinton then followed suit, squeezing in his final state just under the wire.

While Clinton was in office, GOP leaders in Nebraska began taking pride in an odd piece of trivia. “We have the distinction,” Governor Mike Johanns gloated at the Republican National Convention in 2000, “of being the only state in the union, I repeat the ONLY state in the union, never visited by Bill Clinton since he’s been president.” Naturally, the conservative crowd went wild. Four months later , Clinton finally showed and shook hands with Johanns himself when Air Force One touched down at the Kearney Municipal Airport.

George W. Bush spent time in a grand total of 49 states before calling it quits. Care to guess which one he spurned? (We’ll give you a hint: it starts with a “V” and rhymes with “croissant.”)

To say that the 43rd president wasn’t a popular guy in Vermont would be a serious understatement. After all, in 2008, two Vermont towns—Brattleboro and Marlboro—approved a nonbinding measure supposedly requiring local police officers to arrest Bush and then-VP Dick Cheney on sight. Perhaps it was for the best that the head of state kept his distance.

Mobile Menu Overlay

The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

FACT SHEET: Republic of Korea State Visit to the United   States

President Biden of the United States welcomed President Yoon of the Republic of Korea (ROK) on April 26, 2023, for a State Visit to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK Alliance. The two presidents reaffirmed their ironclad commitment to what has become a global alliance focused on deepening defense and security ties, expanding economic, commercial, and environmental cooperation, increasing digital and technology collaboration—including in the space sector—and broadening development assistance, educational exchanges, and people-to-people ties.  This fact sheet provides an overview of political understandings that were affirmed or reaffirmed during the State Visit, as well as plans for further cooperative activities between the United States and the ROK. DEFENSE AND GLOBAL SECURITY COOPERATION President Biden and President Yoon affirmed their strong, shared commitment to the defense of the people and territories of the United States and the ROK, including through deepening extended deterrence.

• Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG): The United States and the ROK launched an NCG to discuss how to plan for nuclear contingencies and cooperate on the Alliance’s approach to nuclear deterrence, given the growing threat posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The NCG will convene at the assistant secretary level.
• Strengthening the International Nonproliferation Regime: The United States and the ROK reaffirmed their enduring commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as the cornerstone for the international nonproliferation regime and the foundation for nuclear disarmament and peaceful uses.
• More Visible U.S. Strategic Asset Deployments: The United States committed to enhancing the deployment of U.S. strategic assets in and around the Korean Peninsula, in particular U.S. nuclear-capable platforms. The Alliance is also expanding the scope and scale of joint exercises and maintaining regular, senior-level defense engagements and dialogues to contend with regional threats.
• Closely Connecting ROK Capabilities with Combined Forces Command: The United States and the ROK are working to increase interconnectedness between the ROK’s new and improving strategic capabilities and the Alliance’s combined force structure to enhance joint planning and execution efforts. 
• ROK Education and Training on Nuclear Deterrence: To enhance ROK preparedness for nuclear threat scenarios, the United States welcomes participation by ROK military personnel in Department of Defense courses and trainings, which will focus on how the Alliance approaches nuclear deterrence on the Korean Peninsula, including through conventional-nuclear integration.  
• New Table-Top Exercise and Simulation:  As we improve our ability to plan for and respond to regional threats, the United States and the ROK have developed a new annual interagency and intergovernmental simulation and a separate table-top exercise with U.S. Strategic Command. These will augment similar activities already established in our bilateral engagements.
• Increasing Participation in Defense Exercises: To ensure force readiness and strengthen our joint force posture, the United States and the ROK are expanding field training exercises, including ULCHI FREEDOM SHIELD and WARRIOR SHIELD, to restore a realistic, theater-level combined exercise system. The ROK plans to join trilateral exercises with the United States and Japan as well as multilateral exercises.
• Enhancing Regional Cooperation on Maritime Security and Defense: Regional security cooperation is critical to achieving peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.  The United States and the ROK will use the Regional Cooperation Working Group (RCWG) to enhance lines of effort that increase maritime domain awareness and defense cooperation with other Indo-Pacific partners. 

ECONOMIC, COMMERCIAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION The United States and the ROK have forged enduring economic ties that reinforce every aspect of our Alliance, from mutual prosperity to commercial investment and from environmental cooperation to stronger cultural connections. President Biden and President Yoon affirmed that the United States and the ROK are committed to advancing economic, commercial, and environmental cooperation.

• Hyundai Motor Group’s $5.4 billion electric vehicle plant in Bryan, Georgia, is under construction and will create 8,100 jobs.
• SK Innovation is working with Ford to invest $11.4 billion on two electric battery parks under construction in Glendale, Kentucky, and Stanton, Tennessee, that will create 11,000 jobs. 
• Samsung Electronics semiconductor manufacturing facility in Taylor, Texas, is under construction and represents an investment of up to $25 billion. 
• Hanwha Q Cells is investing $2.5 billion on the expansion of its solar factories in Dalton, Georgia, which will create 3,000 jobs. 
• Netflix is investing $2.5 billion in Korean content.
• Broader Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF):  The United States and the ROK are working to advance IPEF and achieve high-standard commitments across all four Pillars. For its part, the ROK plans to host an IPEF negotiation round in Busan later this year.
• Expanded Supply Chain Security and Cooperation: The United States is deepening cooperation and engagement with the ROK on economic security measures, including through new working groups in the U.S.-ROK Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue (SCCD). Through these efforts, the United States and the ROK are increasing cooperation on semiconductor incentive programs, research initiatives, and supply chain risks, as well as strengthening cooperation on export controls.
• Expanded Cooperation for Critical Minerals Supply Chains:  The ROK Government will make available $5.3 billion during the next five years to support ROK critical minerals and battery manufacturing investments in North America.  The United States and the ROK will pursue the establishment of a more resilient supply chain, including by playing leading roles in the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP). 
• Fast-tracking E2 Visas: The United States and the ROK are committed to facilitating timely business travel in support of significant ROK investments in the United States. To ensure a smooth process for ROK investors, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul worked with the ROK government and businesses to improve visa processing procedures, resulting in a significant reduction in E2 investment visa wait times from 87 to 5 days.
• Supporting International Efforts to Counter Russia: The ROK has joined the United States and the international coalition of over 30 countries holding Russia responsible for its war in Ukraine through the imposition of sanctions and export controls.
• Joint Efforts on Green Shipping: To accelerate the de-carbonization of the shipping sector, the two nations committed to sign a joint statement on ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction goals in the International Maritime Organization, support the establishment of the U.S.-ROK Green Shipping Corridor announced by the two countries at the COP27 in 2022, and broaden technological and information sharing cooperation, particularly on green shipping. 
• Enhancing Cooperation on Clean Energy and Decarbonization: The United States and ROK held a ministerial-level meeting under the Energy Policy Dialogue (EPD) to identify priority areas for continued collaboration on economy-wide decarbonization. The EPD aims to advance policy and technical exchanges and reinforces the two nations’ commitment to advancing clean energy goals.

TECHNOLOGY, DIGITAL, AND SPACE COOPERATION Our Alliance is equipped for the 21 st Century, and collaboration between the United States and the ROK has grown to include cybersecurity, critical and emerging technology, and space. We are augmenting our digital cooperation, including by improving collaboration on effective digital and telecommunications policy. We are also on a course to broaden our space cooperation across multiple sectors, including security and defense, commercial investment, and space exploration.

• New Cyber Strategic Framework: The two Presidents announced a new bilateral cybersecurity framework that institutionalizes cooperation on developing organizational culture to enhance the cybersecurity of national security networks, increasing defensive cybersecurity capabilities, and collaborating on cybersecurity capacity-building efforts.
• Launching a Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technologies Dialogue: The United States and the ROK are launching a new interagency technology dialogue, convened annually and led by the two National Security Advisors, to expand partnership in such areas as biotechnology and biomanufacturing, batteries, semiconductors, and digital and quantum technologies.
• Expanding Cooperation in Biotechnology: The United States and the ROK are increasing biotechnology and biomanufacturing cooperation, including through an MOU between the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology that supports U.S. and ROK goals to enhance infrastructure development, workforce and talent capacity, and bioeconomy-related research and development.
• Cooperation in Space Science and Exploration: NASA and the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) signed a joint statement of intent at the Goddard Space Flight Center to explore further cooperation in space science and exploration.  Additionally, NASA, MSIT, and participating agencies intend to conduct a joint study on potential areas of future cooperation to explore the Moon and Mars.
• Strengthening Space- and Cyber-Related Consultations: The United States and the ROK committed to strengthen space and cyber cooperation and improve interoperability through consultative bodies such as the Civil Space Dialogue (CSD), Space Security Dialogue (SSD), Space Cooperation Working Group (SCWG) and Cyber Cooperation Working Group (CCWG).
• Strengthening the Freedom Online Coalition: The ROK is joining the Freedom Online Coalition and U.S. efforts to further strengthen and expand this Coalition dedicated to support Internet freedom and protect human rights online.
• Partnering to Combat Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse: The United States and ROK continue to work together, alongside 10 other countries and a multi-stakeholder advisory group and steering committee, to prioritize, understand, prevent, and address the growing scourge of technology-facilitated gender-based violence through the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse. 

EXPANDING DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION, AND PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE TIES President Biden and President Yoon highlighted the remarkable cultural connections between our two nations, and our increasing cooperative focus on development issues around the world.  They shared their intent to further strengthen our combined development work and to knit the American and Korean people even more closely together.

• Supporting Ukraine:  The ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), in close coordination with USAID, plans to contribute to USAID’s Agriculture Resilience Initiative (AGRI) for Ukraine.  This is part of the ROK’s pledge of additional assistance of $130 million on top of its $100 million contribution last year.
• Enhancing Development Cooperation: On April 25, USAID and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) signed a three-year MOU to support personnel exchanges to increase mutual understanding of development cooperation policy and implementation. USAID and KOICA committed to assist with marine litter monitoring systems in the Philippines, and cooperate on the Climate Resilient Cities program.  USAID will also establish a permanent presence at US Embassy Seoul in 2023 to enhance donor collaboration.
• Peace Corps-World Friends Korea MOU Supports Climate Adaption in the Indo-Pacific: Building on the example of Peace Corps volunteers who served in the education and health sectors in the ROK from 1966-1981, the ROK has developed its own overseas volunteering program, World Friends Korea. The organizations have signed an MOU to support climate adaptation and in-country volunteering initiatives with a focus on the Indo-Pacific.
• New Educational Exchange Initiative: The United States and the ROK committed to engage in a new, multi-year, $60 million educational exchange program in the fields of humanities and social sciences as well as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The program includes the largest-ever Fulbright graduate program focused on STEM research.
• Develop New Executive Training Program on Technology: The United States and the ROK committed to develop a new program focused on training the next generation of leaders to be informed, responsible stewards of critical and emerging technologies, including semiconductors, AI, quantum, and biotechnology. The program is intended for mid-career leaders in the public sector from the United States, ROK, India, United Kingdom, and Germany.
• Increasing Cultural and Language Exchanges: The two Presidents welcomed the renewal of an MOU that will increase the number of each countries’ annual participants in the Work, English Study, Travel program from 2,000 to 2,500.
• Deepening U.S.-ROK Health Cooperation:  The United States and the ROK have renewed an MOU to cooperate on cutting-edge cancer research and exchange information about the safe production of medical products with artificial intelligence. Expanding cooperation between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the ROK Ministry of Health and Welfare includes engagement on global health security, digital health, and universal health coverage.

Stay Connected

We'll be in touch with the latest information on how President Biden and his administration are working for the American people, as well as ways you can get involved and help our country build back better.

Opt in to send and receive text messages from President Biden.

President Trump Can Expect a Warm Welcome on His India Trip. Other U.S. Leaders Saw Chillier Relations

W hen Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the U.S. last year, he was greeted by a massive crowd at a Texas rally, billed as one of the biggest-ever receptions for a foreign leader. India is now preparing to return the favor ahead of President Donald Trump’s first official visit to the country on Feb. 24 and 25.

About 100,000 people are expected to attend the “Namaste Trump” event planned in the Indian city of Ahmedabad in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. Modi and Trump will also lead a parade through the city on Trump’s two-day trip, which is expected to focus on trade relations between the two countries and their shared concern about China’s growing influence in the region.

This won’t be the first time massive crowds have turned out in India to receive a visiting U.S. leader. President Bill Clinton also received a large, cheering reception during his trip to India in 2000. But not every U.S. president has been received so warmly, and the history of official visits tracks the ups and downs in the relationship between the world’s two largest democracies over the last 70 years.

Trump’s state visit also comes at a difficult time for Modi. Anti-government protests against a controversial citizenship law have engulfed the country since December. India’s move to revoke Kashmir’s autonomy in August also drew sharp criticism from many in the international community, including members of the U.S. Congress. But experts believe Trump is not likely to raise these issues during his trip, much to the Indian government’s relief.

“There is a lot of pressure on India over its socially divisive policy moves,” Richard M. Rossow, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, tells TIME. “A presidential visit is a sign that the U.S. will continue developing the relationship despite these issues.”

Ahead of Trump’s trip to the South Asian nation, here is a look at previous U.S. presidential visits to India.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1959

The first state visit by a U.S. president to independent India came in the throes of the Cold War, in which India decided to remain neutral. India’s presence at the head of the Non-Aligned Movement, which committed the country not to take sides between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, had kept the two countries estranged until then.

During his trip, Eisenhower addressed both houses of the Indian Parliament and visited the Taj Mahal with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The trip marked a significant shift in the perspective of many in Washington, who had thought of India as being close to the communist Soviet Union .

Richard Nixon, 1969

Nixon’s one-day trip to India was primarily aimed at de-escalating tensions with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The two leaders had a frosty relationship because of India’s decision not to take sides in the Cold War and and the U.S. decision in the early 1960s to deepen its partnership with India’s archrival, Pakistan.

Two years later, the relationship soured further when Nixon supported Pakistan in the India-Pakistan War of 1971, which led to the creation of Bangladesh. In the run-up to the war, India had signed a treaty with the Soviet Union shifting from its original position of Cold War neutrality.

Jimmy Carter, 1978

When Carter visited India, the intention was to thaw tensions that remained after the 1971 war and India’s first nuclear test in 1974. He addressed the Indian Parliament and left a lasting impact on a small town near New Delhi, which was later renamed Carterpuri after him.

However the trip couldn’t convince Prime Minister Morarji Desai to give up India’s nuclear ambitions, a move that irritated the Americans .

Bill Clinton, 2000

Clinton’s India trip, the first by a U.S. President for more than 20 years, was a landmark one that came after a prolonged lull in the relations between the two countries. Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, alliances had shifted. During the 1999 war between Pakistan and India, the U.S. under Clinton sided with India, the first time the country had supported India against Pakistan. In 1991, India initiated a policy of economic liberalization that opened doors to foreign investment. This was also a major boost to trade relations between the U.S. and India.

Clinton visited with his daughter, Chelsea Clinton. His speech in the Indian Parliament received rapturous applause and he toured several Indian cities, leaving many in the country star-struck . “President Clinton was wildly popular in India,” said Bruce Riedel, a senior adviser at Brookings Institute who helped organize Clinton’s trip to India. “It was like traveling with the Beatles or the Rolling Stones in the 1960s.”

George W. Bush, 2006

The highlight of George W. Bush’s trip was the finalization of a landmark nuclear deal, which was agreed upon in 2005. Under the agreement, India separated its civil and military nuclear programs and opened its civilian facilities including nuclear power plants for international inspection. In return, the U.S. ended a ban on nuclear trade with India. The significant move was also accompanied by other measures that boosted economic and security ties.

In an administration defined by the post-9/11 war on terrorism and the invasion of Iraq, experts think developing relations with India was one of Bush’s significant foreign affairs achievements. Ahead of his trip to India, TIME had described his relationship with the country as “something of a bright spot.”

“He definitely deserves credit for recognizing India as a security partner,” Riedel says. “He walked a fine line that allowed for the development of stronger relations with India as well as with Pakistan.”

Barack Obama, 2010 and 2015

Obama visited India twice. During his first trip in 2010 during the administration of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he backed India’s bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. In addition to $10 billion in trade deals, the two leaders also agreed to boost defense and national security ties, which led to the easing of export regulations on high-technology goods to India.

The second time around, Obama came to India on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to be the chief guest at the country’s Republic Day celebration, which marks India’s constitution going into effect. The trip went smoothly until Obama made comments on religious freedom in the country, saying “India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith.” On his return to Washington, he cited concern about “acts of intolerance” on religious lines in India. His comments didn’t go down so well with some members of Modi’s Hindu nationalist government and triggered backlash in the national media.

More Must-Reads From TIME

• Exclusive: Google Workers Revolt Over $1.2 Billion Contract With Israel
• Jane Fonda Champions Climate Action for Every Generation
• Stop Looking for Your Forever Home
• The Sympathizer Counters 50 Years of Hollywood Vietnam War Narratives
• The Bliss of Seeing the Eclipse From Cleveland
• Hormonal Birth Control Doesn’t Deserve Its Bad Reputation
• The Best TV Shows to Watch on Peacock
• Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time

Write to Abhishyant Kidangoor at [email protected]

You May Also Like

Idaho Falls news, Rexburg news, Pocatello news, East Idaho news, Idaho news, education news, crime news, good news, business news, entertainment news, Feel Good Friday and more.

Presidents who have visited Idaho, and what you may not know about America’s former leaders

Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

IDAHO FALLS – For 133 years, Idaho’s abundance of national parks and historical sites have made it a popular place for people to visit, including U.S. leaders.

President Joe Biden visited Idaho in September 2021 to survey wildfire damage in the west. That trip was Biden’s second visit to the Gem State, according to Boise NBC affiliate KTVB. His other visit to Idaho happened in 2009 as vice president when he attended the Special Olympics Winter Games.

RELATED | About 1K in deep red Idaho protest Joe Biden visit to state

Obscure facts about U.S. Presidents

Note: All presidential facts come from Mashable and LegendsofAmerica.com , unless otherwise specified.

• The fourth president, James Madison, is the shortest president to date. He was 5 feet 4 inches tall. At 100 pounds, he was also the lightest.
• Martin Van Buren was the eighth president and the first one to be born an American citizen. Prior to him, all presidents were born in Britain.
• The 15th president, James Buchanan, was the only bachelor to hold office.
• During Rutherford B. Hayes’ presidency, the 19th president, Alexander Graham Bell installed the first telephone at the White House. The phone number was 1.
• William Taft was the largest U.S. President. At 332 pounds, he got stuck in the White House bathtub the first time he used it. A larger one was later ordered.
• Warren Harding, the 29th president, had the largest shoe size. Harding wore a size 14. He was also the first president to speak over the radio.
• Thirty-fifth President John F. Kennedy was the first president to hold a press conference on television. At age 43, he was also the youngest man to serve as president.
• In China, the most well-known Western names are Jesus Christ, Elvis Presley, and Richard Nixon, who was the nation’s 37th President. Nixon, the first U.S. president to visit the Asian country, spent a week there in February 1972.
• When Ronald Reagan was elected as the nation’s 40th president, he was 69-years-old. At that time, he was the oldest person elected to the office. This distinction will eventually fall upon Joe Biden, who will be 81 at the end of his term.
• Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan have two things in common, aside from their political affiliation. They are the only presidents who have been divorced and worked in the entertainment industry.

Idaho had been a territory for nearly 30 years when President Benjamin Harrison officially made Idaho the nation’s 43rd state on July 3, 1890. He later paid a visit to the Gem State and planted a tree at the Statehouse in Boise.

RELATED | How Idaho got its name and became the nation’s 43rd state

“Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft also visited Idaho while in office, and planted trees near Harrison’s tree,” KTVB reports.

Then in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson visited the Idaho National Laboratory in eastern Idaho. Since then, every sitting president has visited Idaho at least once while in office — except one.

Cormac O’Brien, author of “Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents,” tells EastIdahoNews.com it was Donald Trump who broke that streak. He’d never set foot in Idaho when he left office in January 2021.

“In Trump’s calculation, he thought he didn’t have to (visit Idaho) during his presidency because so much of what was important to Trump was his popularity and image. He, or his staff, felt he wasn’t going to lose anything by not going,” O’Brien says. “I think he would’ve gone if he felt his numbers slipping in Idaho.”

But America’s 45th president did meet with former Idaho Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin in November 2021 at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. He officially endorsed McGeachin for Governor five days later. Voters ultimately re-elected Brad Little for a second term, who earned 60% of the vote in the November election.

RELATED | Former President Donald Trump issues his endorsement for Idaho governor

Former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, also came to Idaho in 2019 to visit Yellowstone National Park.

‘Ordinary and weird just like the rest of us’

O’Brien’s book highlights the “strange stories and shocking trivia from inside the White House,” providing readers “hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright wacko facts” about America’s Commanders-in-chief.

His book was originally published in 2004 but is updated every time a new president takes office. In researching for the book, O’Brien says it’s been interesting and ironic to learn how much the American people “rely on very ordinary people to be our head of state.”

“They bring with them all these foibles and baggage, sometimes violent pasts,” says O’Brien. “What I love is that these guys are ordinary and weird just like the rest of us and yet they’re elevated to the highest office in the land, the most powerful position in the world, despite all those things.”

O’Brien says the way Americans view the presidency has evolved over the years. William McKinley, whom O’Brien considers to be the most underrated president, established what O’Brien terms “the beginnings of the American empire.” At that time, America went to war with Spain after a mysterious explosion of the U.S.S. Main in the Havana harbor in Cuba.

This conflict, now known as the Spanish-American War, resulted in the U.S. acquiring Cuba, the Philippines and other territories in the western Pacific and Latin America.

McKinley’s role in leading the charge in this conflict established what O’Brien describes as an “Imperial Presidency.”

“Instead of just the Chief Executive who is the guy who sits in the White House and signs bills and has generals answer to him, now he’s the face of the nation, and in many ways, the most important of the three branches of government. He’s out front and he’s leading affairs in a way that would’ve been uncomfortable to the founders,” O’Brien explains.

RELATED | East Idaho’s first visit from a presidential candidate and one faith’s rocky history with US leaders

As a result, O’Brien says McKinley’s successor, Theodore Roosevelt, had more executive power than any previous president.

Presidential campaigns are another way the office of the President has evolved over the years. What once was considered a dignified office not to be flaunted on the public stage to earn votes now has a ubiquitous public presence, he says.

Campaign season for the 2024 presidential election is already underway. Former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley announced her White House bid last week, becoming the first Republican challenger to former President Donald Trump. Trump kicked off his second presidential campaign in November. If re-elected, Trump would be the second commander-in-chief to serve two nonconsecutive terms.

President Biden has also said he intends to seek re-election.

SUBMIT A CORRECTION

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• March Madness
• AP Top 25 Poll
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Mexican president wanted to lead Latin America, but reality and his own rhetoric got in the way

A car with diplomatic plates leaves the Mexican embassy, in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, April 5, 2024. Ecuador on Thursday declared Mexico’s ambassador to Quito persona non grata due to recent statements made by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador regarding Ecuador’s 2023 presidential elections. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Soldiers and police stand guard outside the Mexican embassy, in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, April 5, 2024. Ecuador on Thursday declared Mexico’s ambassador to Quito persona non grata due to recent statements made by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador regarding Ecuador’s 2023 presidential elections. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

• Copy Link copied

MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in 2018 hoping to recover Mexico’s old reputation as the diplomatic leader of Latin America, but what he’s managed to do is get several of his country’s ambassadors kicked out of countries in the region .

On Friday, López Obrador doubled down after Ecuador ordered the Mexican ambassador out of the country a day earlier, vowing to send a military plane to remove the ambassador and pledging to continue the heated rhetoric. Previously, both Peru and Bolivia had withdrawn their ambassadors in similar disputes.

López Obrador acknowledged that more countries may expel Mexican diplomats because of his criticism of conservative governments, saying that was “because our posture is uncomfortable for the oligarchies of Latin America, and those that really run things, the foreign hegemonic forces.”

That sounds like staunch leftist rhetoric from the 1960s to the early 80s, the period López Obrador is nostalgic for, when Mexico’s old ruling party, the PRI, defended Cuba and helped start peace talks with leftist rebels in Central America. But the president hasn’t adapted to Latin America’s recent rapid swings from left to right.

“For a guy who’s really not interested in foreign policy, he’s got these pipe dreams of what Mexican foreign policy should look like,” said Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico’s former ambassador to the U.S. “It’s nostalgia, it’s the Mexico that he cut his teeth in as a politician, the PRI, it’s the typical PRI foreign policy of using Latin American as a foil vis-a-vis the U.S.”

While it sounds like just another of the president’s recurring, petty diplomatic disputes — López Obrador is famously uninterested in foreign policy and seldom travels or meets with other leaders — this one could escalate.

Mexico is using its embassy in Ecuador to protect an official from the former leftist government of ex-president Rafael Correa, who López Obrador really liked. The ex-official is fleeing two convictions and more investigations for corruption. Mexico upped the ante Friday by granting him asylum, and voiced fears Ecuador could raid the embassy to arrest the former official, who is accused of corruption.

“The Mexican government rejects the increased presence of Ecuadorian police forces outside the Mexican Embassy in Quito,” the Foreign Relations Department said in a statement Friday. “This clearly constitutes harassment of the embassy and is a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention.”

The whole spat started after López Obrador — who is known for making off-handed comments during his marathon-like daily news briefings — made insulting comments about current Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, suggesting the conservative won office because “they created this climate of fear.”

López Obrador claimed the conservatives used the 2023 assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate and anti-corruption crusader Fernando Villavicencio, to swing the elections in Noboa’s favor and block the return of Correa’s leftist movement.

Coming from a Mexican leader, the comments were particularly sensitive given that Mexican cartels are believed to be involved with many of the Ecuadorian gangs responsible for the exploding levels of violence in the South American country. López Obrador has a policy of not confronting the cartels.

But the comments also appeared to be insulting on a personal level to many.

Amanda Villavicencio, one of the daughters of the assassinated candidate, wrote in her social media accounts Thursday that “López Obrador, you should wash your mouth out before talking about my father. Fernando Villavicencio was killed by the mafiosos he always investigated, some of whom have taken refuge at your embassy and in your country.

The situation is complicated by the fact that things haven’t really been going López Obrador’s way in Latin America.

The former leftist president of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, is one of López Obrador’s only close allies in the region, along with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, the only foreigner ever invited to speak at a Mexican Independence Day celebration. Fernandez was swept out of power in last year’s elections by radical libertarian and free-market proponent Javier Milei.

The other major diplomatic leader in Latin America, Brazil’s leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has been well ahead of López Obrador on adopting a neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and condemning Israel for the war in Gaza. At one point he controversially compared Israel’s actions to the Holocaust.

In a sense, Lula da Silva is now much more of a leader for Latin America, just because he’s much more interested in foreign policy — and tries harder.

Since taking office in 2023, when he declared “Brazil is back!”, he has made 17 international trips, visited 28 countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. López Obrador’s trips abroad can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

And global leaders will converge on Rio de Janeiro this year for the G20 summit. In March, Lula welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron during his three-day visit that his allies have portrayed as a return of the South American nation to top diplomatic circles.

Meanwhile, López Obrador’s hopes of leading a resurgent leftist tide in Latin America — waves that periodically swept the region every decade or so — have been frustrated by a region that now much more resembles a pinball machine of rapid switches, rather than a grand swing of any ideological pendulum.

“He doesn’t understand foreign policy,” Sarukhan, the former diplomat, said. “He doesn’t understand how the world has changed since the 1970s and how Mexico’s role in the world has changed.”

But in a real sense, Latin America is second to maintaining Mexico’s most economically important relationship, with the United States. Latin America is a stage where Mexico can ‘look’ leftist, while kowtowing to U.S. demands on everything else.

In 2022, López Obrador famously refused to attend a U.S. summit in Los Angeles because Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela hadn’t been invited.

But apart from some economic support for Cuba, including buying vaccines and importing doctors and supplying the island with oil, López Obrador’s support for Cuba has remained largely rhetorical.

López Obrador pledged at the beginning of his administration that there would be no tension with the U.S. and he has largely kept that promise by reliably acceding to every U.S. request on the most important issue, migration.

Mexico has agreed to try to stop migrants before they reach the U.S. border and agreed to accept deportees who are not Mexican citizens, something that by law it doesn’t have to do.

AP Reporter Mauricio Savarese contributed to this report from Sao Paulo.

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Sweepstakes
• Destinations
• Central & South America

25 Best Places to Visit in South America, From the Wetlands of Brazil to Easter Island

Experts share their top sights on the continent.

Harrison Pierce is a freelance writer and digital nomad passionate about personal finance and travel. He is traveling full-time with the help of points and miles and enjoys connecting with people on the ground. His work has been published in Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, USA Today Blueprint, Matador Network, and other publications. 

Gabriel_Amaral/Getty Images

As a digital nomad who works and travels full time, I spend a good portion of the year in South America. The first city I visited was Buenos Aires, and it immediately stole my heart — it is arguably one of the best cities on the continent . Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to explore beyond Argentina, including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay; Peru will be added to that list in the coming months.

South America has unlimited things to offer, from beautiful beaches and mountainside villages to world-class cuisine and two of the New 7 Wonders of the World . With the help of Elisban Huarancca, an official tourism guide in Peru , Eva Castro, owner of Creo Ecolodge Jardin Project in Antioquia, Colombia, and Alexander Balardjischvili, CEO of C2Rio Tours & Travel , we’ve compiled a list of the 25 best places to visit in South America.

Related : Travel + Leisure Readers' 5 Favorite Resorts in South America of 2023

Jardín, Antioquia, Colombia

reisegraf/Getty Images

Jardín is a small town a few hours south of Medellín with colonial architecture, beautiful scenery, and lots to do. Castro of Creo Ecolodge, where I stayed during my trip to Jardín, gave plenty of recommendations for things to do while you’re in town. Take a tour of Cueva del Esplendor, or Cave of Splendor, where you'll find a beautiful waterfall, or head to a nearby coffee farm to learn how Colombian coffee is produced. My favorite is Cafe Historias , which has some of the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.  Castro says the best time of year to visit is August and September when there are very few travelers. This is also when the annual Jardin Film Festival takes place. It gets much busier in town from December through April, Castro says.

Cocora Valley, Salento, Colombia

jmichaelmedia/Getty Images

Due west of Bogota is Cocora Valley, one of Colombia's most famous hiking destinations. You can take a day trip from the nearby town of Salento or do a multi-day hike throughout the valley. There are campsites available for use if you choose to spend the night looking at the stars. It’s famous for having the tallest palm trees in the world, which stand at over 195 feet tall and can live up to 200 years. The almost oversaturated green colors of the hills are stunning. Castro highly recommends going at "golden hour" — early in the morning or late in the afternoon — for the best views.

The Lost City, Magdalena, Colombia

PetraKosonen/Getty Images

The Lost City, or Ciudad Perdida in Spanish, is located near Santa Marta in northern Colombia. It’s estimated to have been founded in the 8th or 9th centuries, making it hundreds of years older than Machu Picchu. It was home to anywhere between 1,400 to 3,000 people and about 170 terraces, with apparent spaces for living, working, and religious practice. You’ll have to do a three- to six-day trek with a tour company to get there. On the way, you will see rare native plants and wildlife, which is an adventure in itself. 

The Rock of Guatapé, Guatapé, Colombia

Jens Otte/Getty Images

Guatapé is a town in northern Colombia, directly east of Medellín, and it’s famous for The Rock of Guatapé, which is reached via more 740 steps. At the end of your climb, you will be rewarded with sweeping views of the town and different islands in Guatapé Lake. The town is reachable via a bus ride that's less than two hours from Medellín, making it a perfect weekend trip.  “The people here are more welcoming and warm,” says Castro. “When you are walking, you can find many smiling faces... It’s part of our culture.”

San Rafael, Antioqua, Colombia

San Rafael is excellent “if you really want to have the deepest connection with yourself and with nature,” says Castro. She recommends Vanadurga Ashram , a yoga sanctuary, if you want to practice yoga while you're here. “These places are really magical, and you can learn how to change your perspective," Castro adds.

San Rafael is known for its natural beauty, including mountains, waterfalls, and rivers. You can bird watch, hike, or simply soak in nature. “People want to come to have an inner journey,” says Castro. “If that’s your goal — to find out something inside of you — I’d recommend places like San Rafael.”

Cusco, Peru

PocholoCalapre/Getty Images

If you are interested in Inca ruins, Cusco is the perfect place. Churches, museums, and winding streets here will leave you charmed. “Travelers to Peru should know that they will face a diverse and colorful culture, with very warm and very friendly people,” says Huarancca. “Also, understand that they will face different flavors that will help them experience every second of their trip.” Cusco makes a great starting point to reach Machu Picchu. Many travelers spend a few days here exploring and acclimating to the 11,150-foot elevation. (In comparison, Denver has an elevation of 5,280 feet.)

Machu Picchu, Peru

Rory Fuller/Travel + Leisure

Arguably one of the most famous places in the world, Machu Picchu is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The site was initially an Inca citadel, likely built in the 1450s and often called “The Lost City of the Incas.” Machu Picchu is about 50 miles from Cusco; from there, you’ll take a train to Aguas Calientes and then a bus to the site. You cannot visit without a tour guide, so make reservations well in advance.  “The visit to Machu Picchu can be all year round; different climatic factors help to understand the mysterious nature of Machu Picchu,” says Huarancca. “But if you are looking for dates with little rain, it is well suited from April to the end of October.”

Lake Titicaca, Peru

Didier Marti/Getty Images

Lake Titicaca is the largest of South America's freshwater lakes, as well as the world's highest navigable lake. It’s an estimated three million years old, and there are man-made islands constructed of layers of tortora roots and reeds. The number of islands varies at any given time but is usually somewhere between f40 to 60. You will have some of the best views in the Andes from this place, and it is extremely important to Peruvian and Bolivian indigenous communities.

Rainbow Mountain, Vinicunca, Peru

maylat/Getty Images

Close to Cusco in the Andes Mountains is Vinicunca, also known as Rainbow Mountain because of the colorful stripes on display year-round. The colors result from different mineral layers that were combined with melted ice to create rows of reds, yellows, purples, and greens.

The Amazon Rainforest, Peru

JarnoVerdonk/Getty Images

The Amazon Rainforest spans eight countries and is almost 2.6 million square miles in size. You can visit the Peruvian Amazon from three areas: Manu National Park, Tambopata Province, and the city of Iquitos. Each provides something unique to tourists. The best option depends on what you want to see, how much time you can spend, and your budget.  “The only recommendation I can give to international travelers is to make reservations in advance and have good information about the places you will visit,” says Huarancca. “It is necessary to find out the type of food, drinks, and traditions that place has.”

Huacachina, Peru

Istvan Kadar Photography/Getty Images

Huarancca recommends visiting Huacachina, “a small oasis in the middle of the desert.” Located south of Lima and near the city of Ica, Huacachina is a desert village complete with rolling sand dunes on all sides. You can't swim in Huacachina Lagoon, but you can rent paddle boats to glide across the water. It’s the only natural oasis in all of South America, formed by underground aquifers.

Colca Canyon, Peru

Caroline Brundle Bugge/Getty Images

Colca Canyon is another tourist attraction in Peru that you should not miss, according to Huarancca. It’s one of the world’s deepest canyons (twice as deep as the Grand Canyon) and you can take a day trip from Arequipa to see it or a multi-day trek for the most spectacular views. Either way you're likely to see plenty of native wildlife and breathtaking scenery.

Uyuni Salt Flat, Bolivia

Chris VR/Travel + Leisure

Bolivia is home to the largest salt flat in the world, originally a prehistoric lake that went dry. Now Uyuni Salt Flat is around 4,200 square miles of striking white salt and rock formations. If you visit between December and April, which is the rainy season, you may see bright pink flamingos. Many people who have visited when water is on the ground describe the experience as walking on a cloud, since the sky is reflected in the water. Book a room at Kachi Lodge , which is set right on the flat, for a very special stay.

Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

dislentev/Getty Images

Christ the Redeemer is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and a must-see for anyone heading to Brazil. The statue of Jesus stands almost 125 feet tall and looks over Rio de Janeiro . When visiting the marvel, you can expect phenomenal views of the city. Balardjischvili recommends taking the train to see the statue and to book that ticket in advance.

Pantanal Wetland, Brazil

micsmt/Getty Images

Measuring more than 40 million acres, Pantanal Wetland is the biggest wetland on Earth. Jaguars and crocodiles are just two of its residents — with more than 4,700 plant and animal species, it’s one of the most biodiverse destinations on the planet. Balardjischvili recommends “bringing insect repellent, a light raincoat, and a sweatshirt — and always hydrate.”

The Imperial City of Petropolis, Brazil

diegograndi/Getty Images

Petropolis is a mountain resort outside of Rio de Janeiro known for its palaces, architecture, and food. “Visit Petropolis on a guided tour to enjoy the historical aspect," Balardjischvili says. "Always book your tour on legalized companies with good reviews."

Sugarloaf Mountain, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Holger Leue/Getty Images

Sugarloaf Mountain is a major landmark in Brazil, well known for the panoramic city views guests get at the top. The cable car system here opened in 1912; it was the first in Brazil and the third in the world. “For Sugarloaf, visit it in the morning, as it is fresher; sunset is beautiful but extremely crowded," says Balardjischvili. "If you are traveling during the high season, buy a skip-the-line ticket." The mountain peak sits almost 1,300 feet in the air, so you’ll be grateful you don’t have to climb all the way up. 

When asked about the best time of year to visit Rio de Janeiro, Balardjischvili says May or June, when "you’ll enjoy beautiful sunny days with no rain and 77 degrees.”

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Lauren Breedlove/Travel + Leisure

One of my favorite cities in the world is Buenos Aires , where you can find anything from tango shows and street art to the best steak you’ll ever eat. Each neighborhood has something special. Head to La Boca for beautiful murals along the streets, then tour the famous cemetery in Recoleta before stopping at a speakeasy in Palermo. There’s no shortage of fantastic things to do here, and the city makes a wonderful home base for seeing more of Argentina.

Zuccardi Winery, Uco Valley, Argentina

David Silverman/Getty Images

Zuccardi Valle de Uco is an award-winning winery that I had the opportunity to visit this past January. It certainly lives up to its reputation, with fantastic wines and the Andes as a stunning backdrop to the property's extensive vineyards. Reservations for tastings and tours can be made online.

Iguazú Falls, Puerto Iguazú, Argentina

DIEGO GUTIERREZ/Getty Images

Located on the border of Argentina and Brazil, Iguazú Falls is comprised of about 275 individual waterfalls, making it the largest waterfall system in the world. Most of the waterfalls are on the Argentina side, but the tallest is on the Brazil side. It’s a stunning sight to behold and an absolute must for anyone traveling through South America.

Patagonia, Argentina

noblige/Getty Images

Patagonia is larger than many countries around the world and is split between Argentina and Chile. You can expect each city in the region to feel unique; some of the most popular ones in Argentinian Patagonia are El Calafate, Ushuaia, and El Chaltén. Whether you go to Patagonia Brewery in San Carlos de Bariloche or hike one of the 300 glaciers throughout the region, you will surely have an experience you’ll never forget.

Punta del Este Beaches, Uruguay

ElOjoTorpe/Getty Images

Uruguay is still relatively underrated, but it is a fantastic place for international travelers. It takes just a couple of hours by ferry to get from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. From there, it’s about a two-hour drive to Punta del Este, which has some of the best beaches in the country, plus high-end shopping and fantastic steakhouses.

Valparaíso, Chile

Patrick Donovan/Getty Images

Valparaíso is located on the coast of Chile and is less than a two-hour drive from Santiago. It’s famous for its colorful homes and for being the home of renowned poet and diplomat Pablo Neruda. It’s also connected to Viña del Mar, where you'll find some of Chile's top beaches. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage site with excellent architecture and many things to discover.

Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

Andrew Peacock/Getty Images

The Galápagos Islands are perfect for nature lovers. Visitors can learn about the archipelago's unique biodiversity, go scuba diving, lounge on beaches, or embark on a multi-island cruise. You might also swim with sea lions or hang out with giant turtles.

Easter Island, Chile

daboost/Getty Images

Easter Island is a Chilean territory in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. It’s known for the nearly 900 stone statues of human figures, called moai , that you'll find here. The statues are believed to have been created over time, from the 11th century to some time in the 17th century. From Santiago, it’s about a 5.5-hour flight to reach the island.

Mexican President Wanted to Lead Latin America, but Reality and His Own Rhetoric Got in the Way

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in 2018 hoping to recover Mexico's old reputation as the diplomatic leader of Latin America

Dolores Ochoa

A car with diplomatic plates leaves the Mexican embassy, in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, April 5, 2024. Ecuador on Thursday declared Mexico's ambassador to Quito persona non grata due to recent statements made by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador regarding Ecuador's 2023 presidential elections. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in 2018 hoping to recover Mexico’s old reputation as the diplomatic leader of Latin America, but what he’s managed to do is get several of his country’s ambassadors kicked out of countries in the region .

On Friday, López Obrador doubled down after Ecuador ordered the Mexican ambassador out of the country a day earlier, vowing to send a military plane to remove the ambassador and pledging to continue the heated rhetoric. Previously, both Peru and Bolivia had withdrawn their ambassadors in similar disputes.

López Obrador acknowledged that more countries may expel Mexican diplomats because of his criticism of conservative governments, saying that was “because our posture is uncomfortable for the oligarchies of Latin America, and those that really run things, the foreign hegemonic forces.”

That sounds like staunch leftist rhetoric from the 1960s to the early 80s, the period López Obrador is nostalgic for, when Mexico's old ruling party, the PRI, defended Cuba and helped start peace talks with leftist rebels in Central America. But the president hasn't adapted to Latin America's recent rapid swings from left to right.

“For a guy who’s really not interested in foreign policy, he’s got these pipe dreams of what Mexican foreign policy should look like,” said Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico’s former ambassador to the U.S. “It's nostalgia, it's the Mexico that he cut his teeth in as a politician, the PRI, it's the typical PRI foreign policy of using Latin American as a foil vis-a-vis the U.S.”

While it sounds like just another of the president's recurring, petty diplomatic disputes — López Obrador is famously uninterested in foreign policy and seldom travels or meets with other leaders — this one could escalate.

Photos You Should See - April 2024

Mexico is using its embassy in Ecuador to protect an official from the former leftist government of ex-president Rafael Correa, who López Obrador really liked. The ex-official is fleeing two convictions and more investigations for corruption. Mexico upped the ante Friday by granting him asylum, and voiced fears Ecuador could raid the embassy to arrest the former official, who is accused of corruption.

“The Mexican government rejects the increased presence of Ecuadorian police forces outside the Mexican Embassy in Quito,” the Foreign Relations Department said in a statement Friday. “This clearly constitutes harassment of the embassy and is a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention."

The whole spat started after López Obrador — who is known for making off-handed comments during his marathon-like daily news briefings — made insulting comments about current Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, suggesting the conservative won office because “they created this climate of fear.”

López Obrador claimed the conservatives used the 2023 assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate and anti-corruption crusader Fernando Villavicencio, to swing the elections in Noboa's favor and block the return of Correa's leftist movement.

Coming from a Mexican leader, the comments were particularly sensitive given that Mexican cartels are believed to be involved with many of the Ecuadorian gangs responsible for the exploding levels of violence in the South American country. López Obrador has a policy of not confronting the cartels.

But the comments also appeared to be insulting on a personal level to many.

Amanda Villavicencio, one of the daughters of the assassinated candidate, wrote in her social media accounts Thursday that “López Obrador, you should wash your mouth out before talking about my father. Fernando Villavicencio was killed by the mafiosos he always investigated, some of whom have taken refuge at your embassy and in your country.

The situation is complicated by the fact that things haven't really been going López Obrador's way in Latin America.

The former leftist president of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, is one of López Obrador's only close allies in the region, along with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, the only foreigner ever invited to speak at a Mexican Independence Day celebration. Fernandez was swept out of power in last year's elections by radical libertarian and free-market proponent Javier Milei.

The other major diplomatic leader in Latin America, Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has been well ahead of López Obrador on adopting a neutral stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and condemning Israel for the war in Gaza. At one point he controversially compared Israel's actions to the Holocaust.

In a sense, Lula da Silva is now much more of a leader for Latin America, just because he's much more interested in foreign policy — and tries harder.

Since taking office in 2023, when he declared “Brazil is back!”, he has made 17 international trips, visited 28 countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. López Obrador's trips abroad can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

And global leaders will converge on Rio de Janeiro this year for the G20 summit. In March, Lula welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron during his three-day visit that his allies have portrayed as a return of the South American nation to top diplomatic circles.

Meanwhile, López Obrador's hopes of leading a resurgent leftist tide in Latin America — waves that periodically swept the region every decade or so — have been frustrated by a region that now much more resembles a pinball machine of rapid switches, rather than a grand swing of any ideological pendulum.

“He doesn’t understand foreign policy,” Sarukhan, the former diplomat, said. “He doesn’t understand how the world has changed since the 1970s and how Mexico’s role in the world has changed.”

But in a real sense, Latin America is second to maintaining Mexico's most economically important relationship, with the United States. Latin America is a stage where Mexico can ‘look’ leftist, while kowtowing to U.S. demands on everything else.

In 2022, López Obrador famously refused to attend a U.S. summit in Los Angeles because Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela hadn't been invited.

But apart from some economic support for Cuba, including buying vaccines and importing doctors and supplying the island with oil, López Obrador's support for Cuba has remained largely rhetorical.

López Obrador pledged at the beginning of his administration that there would be no tension with the U.S. and he has largely kept that promise by reliably acceding to every U.S. request on the most important issue, migration.

Mexico has agreed to try to stop migrants before they reach the U.S. border and agreed to accept deportees who are not Mexican citizens, something that by law it doesn't have to do.

AP Reporter Mauricio Savarese contributed to this report from Sao Paulo.

Copyright 2024 The  Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation

Tags: Associated Press , politics , immigration , diplomacy , world news

America 2024

Health News Bulletin

Stay informed on the latest news on health and COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report.

Sign in to manage your newsletters »

Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy .

You May Also Like

The 10 worst presidents.

U.S. News Staff Feb. 23, 2024

Cartoons on President Donald Trump

Feb. 1, 2017, at 1:24 p.m.

Photos: Obama Behind the Scenes

April 8, 2022

Photos: Who Supports Joe Biden?

March 11, 2020

A Reprieve for Inflation?

Tim Smart April 11, 2024

Embattled Johnson Bruised Again

Aneeta Mathur-Ashton April 10, 2024

What to Know About Biden's State Dinner

Laura Mannweiler April 10, 2024

Fed: Inflation Path ‘Somewhat Uneven’

Tim Smart April 10, 2024

No Letup From Inflation in March

Arizona Court Upholds 1864 Abortion Ban

Lauren Camera April 9, 2024

Watch CBS News

Missed the 2024 total solar eclipse? Watch video of moments from the event here.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/ link copied

By Aliza Chasan , Meghan Schiller , Christopher DeRose , Sara Moniuszko , Emily Mae Czachor , Luis Giraldo , Kerry Breen , Sarah Maddox

Updated on: April 8, 2024 / 8:49 PM EDT / CBS News

The sky darkened for millions in the U.S. on Monday as the 2024 total solar eclipse worked its way across a swath of the country.

A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow that blocks out the light from the sun. The sun appeared to vanish behind the moon for minutes at a time as the eclipse traveled along its "path of totality," starting on Mexico's Pacific coast and moving northeast through more than a dozen states, from Texas to Maine, and into eastern Canada. 

More than 31 million people live along the path of totality, and many more flew  or drove to witness  the April 8 spectacle in person. Outside the path of totality, the rest of the continental U.S. got to see a partial eclipse ( if skies were clear ) as the moon blocked a portion of the sun. It will be decades before the next total solar eclipse appears in the U.S.

High school students help NASA collect data during eclipse

Students at Eminence High School in Indiana didn't just watch Monday's total solar eclipse. With the help of a special telescope, they collected data on the sun's corona for NASA. The information will help researchers understand how the sun converts magnetic energy into heat.  

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-798d430e link copied

"It was totally worth it. It was amazing."

In Erie, Pennsylvania, people gathered to watch the total solar eclipse and broke out in applause as they plunged into darkness. Emotions took over as everyone fixated on the ring in the sky. There was a lot of awe, disbelief and strained necks as people looked up for four minutes straight.

One family drove eight hours from Virginia.

"I honestly was not that excited about it. I was like, eight hours for three minutes? But it was totally worth it. It was amazing," one family member said.

Read more here .

-Meghan Schiller and Christopher DeRose

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-24321e03 link copied

Watch: Cleveland witnesses solar eclipse totality

Spectators in Cleveland, Ohio, saw the total solar eclipse around 3:15 p.m. EDT as the moon covered the sun for a little more than three minutes. CBS News' Dave Malkoff witnessed the event with Stephen Bowen, a NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Navy captain.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-db21479c link copied

What other celestial events can you see in 2024?

Stargazers have more events to look forward to this year following the April 8 eclipse. 

There are several meteor showers ahead, including the Lyrid meteor shower later this month, expected to peak April 21-22. There's also the Eta Aquariids, peaking May 4-5; the Perseids, peaking Aug. 12-13; and the Geminids, peaking Dec. 13-14.

Outside of the U.S., an annular solar eclipse will be visible in South America on Oct. 2. 

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-d1bb6ea8 link copied

Watch: Eclipse reaches totality over Arkansas and Illinois

Dozens of couples were married in a mass ceremony in Arkansas before the solar eclipse reached totality above them. Norah O'Donnell and Tony Dokoupil anchored CBS News' special coverage as the total eclipse passed over Arkansas and Illinois.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-a4926f06 link copied

Look at the solar eclipse too long? Doctors explain signs of eye damage.

Did you look up at the solar eclipse without your  safety glasses ? Looking at the sun — even when it's partially covered like during  the eclipse on April 8  — can cause eye damage.

There is no safe dose of solar ultraviolet rays or infrared radiation, said  Dr. Yehia Hashad , an ophthalmologist, retinal specialist and the chief medical officer at eye health company Bausch + Lomb.

"A very small dose could cause harm to some people," he said. "That's why we say the partial eclipse could also be damaging. And that's why we protect our eyes with the partial as well as with the full sun."

But how do you know if you've hurt your vision? We asked eye doctors what to know.  Read more here .

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-11a9535b link copied

Watch: Total solar eclipse seen in Indianapolis

Around 50,000 people gathered in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to experience the total solar eclipse. CBS News' Norah O'Donnell and Tony Dokoupil could see other planets in the solar system during the celestial event.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-0cb64af7 link copied

When is the next eclipse?

After the April 8 total solar eclipse, the next total solar eclipse that will be visible from the contiguous United States will be on Aug. 23, 2044.

Before that, there will be an annular solar eclipse on Oct. 2 of this year, according to NASA. It will be visible in parts of South America, with some parts only able to experience a partial eclipse. A partial eclipse will also be visible in parts of Antarctica, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and North America.

There will be two partial solar eclipses next year, according to NASA . On March 29, 2025, a partial eclipse will be visible in parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. On Sept. 21, 2025, there will be a partial eclipse in parts of Australia, Antarctica, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.

There will also be two solar eclipses in 2026, including a total solar eclipse. On Feb. 17 of that year, there will be an annular solar eclipse visible in parts of Antarctica, according to NASA. A partial eclipse will be visible that day in parts of Antarctica, Africa, South America, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

On Aug. 12, 2026, there will be a total solar eclipse visible in parts of Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and a small area of Portugal, according to NASA. A partial eclipse will be visible in parts of Europe, Africa, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

Read more here.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-d6f43631 link copied

Watch: Total solar eclipse in Dallas, Texas

Thousands gathered in Dallas, Texas, to experience the total solar eclipse through a partly cloudy sky. CBS News' Omar Villafranca witnessed the event at the Cotton Bowl Stadium surrounded by young Americans experiencing the celestial event for the first time.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-981ce219 link copied

Total eclipse puts on a brilliant show over western New York

Mid-afternoon daylight turned to dusk in seconds, and for a time even darker than that, over Niagara Falls as the moon directly blocked the sun for about three and a half minutes of totality. The temperature dropped as the sky darkened, with just a sliver of the sun's outer rim glowing and clearly visible before the eclipse shifted back to partial again.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-23468448 link copied

NASA debunks eclipse radiation myths

NASA said that over the years, people scared of eclipses have made up stories about the harm they can pose.

Several myths revolve around radiation. For instance, there's a false idea that radiation during a total solar eclipse will poison any food prepared during the eclipse.

Another common myth around the eclipse is the idea that the total solar eclipse produces harmful rays that can cause blindness, according to NASA. The space agency says that when the moon covers the sun during the eclipse, the corona emits electromagnetic radiation. That light is a million times fainter than the light of the sun itself and coronal light cannot cross 150 million kilometers of space, penetrate Earth's dense atmosphere and cause blindness.

Still, it's not safe to look at the solar eclipse without special glasses. Watching the sun during the eclipse before or after totality can cause retinal damage .  

People also falsely believe that pregnant individuals should not watch an eclipse. NASA says it's related to the false idea that harmful radiation is emitted during a total solar eclipse. 

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-98a58c28 link copied

Will animals be affected by the solar eclipse?

Because total solar eclipses happen so infrequently, animal experts aren't sure how they'll be impacted as the skies darken. In 2017, giraffes ran in circles, flamingos huddled together and rhinos looked confused at the Nashville Zoo , the Associated Press reported. Researchers prepared to study the eclipse's impact on animal behavior at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas.

Veterinarians say pet owners may notice brief periods of confusion and fear among dogs and cats during the eclipse. Some pets may start their nighttime routine earlier as the sky darkens for the eclipse, yawning and heading for their beds.

Some animals that depend more on the light-dark cycle, like birds, may be more affected because the sky will darken during the eclipse, said Dr. Katie Krebs, a veterinarian and professor at University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-ed7c93ee link copied

Eclipse arrives in Niagara Falls and Buffalo, New York

A crescent-shaped sun shone bright white as the moon began to cover it and transition into totality over Niagara Falls at around 2:45 p.m. EDT. Sudden bursts of cheering rang out from the growing sea of viewers donning eclipse glasses and tilting cameras upward at the ready, as the partial eclipse peeked through dark clouds in fleeting intervals.

Officials had in the weeks leading up to the eclipse said that Buffalo and its surrounding area, which includes the U.S. side of Niagara Falls, was preparing to host an estimated 1 million tourists for the celestial show.

But crowds were thin across the city, save for those that gathered in droves at the scenic state park, where some visitors said they had come as early as dawn to secure their spot and where New York Gov. Kathy Hochul joined hopeful skywatchers as the eclipse approached totality over the region.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-9cc63a35 link copied

How long will the solar eclipse last?

Viewers at a spot along the path of totality will see a total eclipse lasting up to about 4 and a half minutes, with the length of time the sun is at least partially obscured lasting about 40 minutes.

The eclipse's path across the U.S. will dazzle viewers for about 3 and a half hours — from the time the eclipse comes into view along the U.S.-Mexico border near Eagle Pass, Texas, at 12:10 p.m. CT, until it exits into Canada from northern Maine at about 4:40 p.m. ET.

From the time the partial eclipse first appears on Earth over the Pacific to its final glimpses before disappearing thousands of miles away, the entire celestial show will last about 5 hours, according to timeanddate.com .

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-46073e31 link copied

Illinois town in the path of totality hosts thousands of eclipse watchers

Southern Illinois expected about 200,000 people to pour in from all over to be in the path of totality for the solar eclipse. The city of Carbondale welcomed them with a block party featuring bands, food and drink on Sunday evening once the rain moved out.

Carbondale was also in the path of the 2017 total eclipse .

"Everybody talks about it being a miracle," said Scott Mitchner. "It is kind of a miracle. And it's a very amazing thing to see. And that first time, I know I'll never forget that. And I'm looking forward to a second time."

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-8b09ce0e link copied

Getting married during the eclipse

As the total solar eclipse moves reaches Russellville, Arkansas, more than 300 couples will weave their future together at a mass wedding. There, the total eclipse will last 4 minutes and 12 seconds, with totality occurring at 1:50 p.m. CT. 

Rodney Williams, a hot air balloonist from Branson, Missouri, is used to turning the skies into attractions. He organized the event as part of the city's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" festival.

The event offers marrying couples cake, a non-alcoholic toast and music — for free.

"Sometimes planning a wedding can be stressful," Williams said. "Not only the money but just all the decision-making and all of the different ideas that may not all coincide with each other."

Craig Wayne Boyd, a winner of "The Voice" singing contest, will officiate the ceremony and more than 600 newlyweds will have their first dance as he sings "Golden."

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-c74e98a8 link copied

Stunning photos of eclipse from Mexico and Texas

The total solar eclipse first made landfall along Mexico's Pacific coast before moving on to Texas, and photographers in both locations captured breathtaking images as the moon began to cover the sun.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-f4b49116 link copied

Biden: "Enjoy the eclipse. But play it safe."

The White House posted a short video of President Biden donning his eclipse glasses and encouraging Americans to enjoy the view. "But don't be silly, folks – play it safe and wear protective eyewear," the message said .

An eclipse is worth marveling at. But don't be silly, folks – play it safe and wear protective eyewear. pic.twitter.com/S6REAiZ735 — President Biden (@POTUS) April 8, 2024

Though Mr. Biden didn't mention it, his video prompted comparisons to a famous photo of then-President Trump standing on the same White House balcony during the 2017 eclipse and briefly looking up without protective glasses. 

Doctors say eclipse glasses are crucial to protect your eyes from sun damage.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-29e5245e link copied

Check your eclipse glasses: Illinois Health Department warning of recall

The Illinois Department of Public Health is warning people to check their eclipse glasses after a recall. 

The recalled glasses were sold through Amazon as "Biniki Solar Eclipse Glasses AAS Approved 2024 – CE & ISO Certified Safe Shades for Direct Sun Viewing (6 Packs)." 

The recalled glasses are labeled as "EN ISO 12312-1:2022." Proper eclipse safety glasses should carry the ISO designation of 12312-2.

However, the glasses  were not listed on Amazon's official recall page  and were still available for sale on Monday. A spokesperson said that the glasses had previously been identified as not being sourced from a supplier approved by the American Astronomical Society, and any customers who had purchased them were notified and provided refunds.

Since then, those glasses have been added to the  American Astronomical Society's approved list , and remain available for purchase.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-15041cf7 link copied

How to safely watch the total solar eclipse

Millions of people across the U.S. are excited to see the eclipse, but it's important to do so safely. Looking at the sun — even when it's partially covered like during an eclipse — can cause eye damage.

There is no safe dose of solar ultraviolet rays or infrared radiation, says Dr. Yehia Hashad, an ophthalmologist, retinal specialist and the chief medical officer at eye health company Bausch + Lomb.

Special glasses  are needed for protection during eclipse viewing; regular sunglasses aren't enough, even if you stack more than one pair. A pinhole viewer is another safe viewing option.

Eye problems caused by looking at the eclipse without special glasses may not be apparent immediately, sometimes appearing one to a few days following the event. It could affect just one or both eyes. And while some will regain normal visual function, sometimes the damage is permanent. 

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-f507a58a link copied

What time will the eclipse reach peak totality?

Peak viewing time will depend on your location. The total solar eclipse will emerge over the South Pacific Ocean on Monday morning before reaching North America at about 10:57 a.m. PT, beginning in parts of Mexico. 

The path of totality — where onlookers can witness the moon fully blocking the sun (through eclipse viewing glasses for safety, of course) — then crosses over the U.S.-Mexico border into Texas, arriving at Eagle Pass at 12:10 p.m. CT. 

It completes its journey across the U.S. at about 4:40 p.m. ET, passing over Caribou, Maine, and into Canada.

Here is a look at the expected times in 13 cities along the path of totality:  

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-f90298da link copied

What are the different types of solar eclipses?

While the April 8 eclipse will be a total solar eclipse, there are actually several types of solar eclipses . They occur when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth, either partially or totally blocking the sun's light along its path..

During the April 8 total solar eclipse, the moon will completely block the light of the sun across parts of the U.S. , allowing people in the "path of totality" — the center of the moon's shadow — to experience a total eclipse.

The sun will have a crescent shape as the moon begins to cover it, then the sky will get dimmer as the moon covers more and more of the sun, until it eventually covers the full sun during several minutes of totality. During totality, viewers may see a corona, the outermost part of the sun's atmosphere.

An annular solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth when it is either at or near its farthest point from Earth, according to NASA. With the moon so far away, it won't completely cover the sun. During this type of eclipse, the moon will appear as a dark disk on top of the sun, with a bright ring around it.

A partial solar eclipse happens when the sun, moon and Earth are not perfectly aligned as the moon passes between the sun and Earth, NASA explains. Only part of the sun is covered by the moon during this type of eclipse, giving it a crescent shape.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-6835508d link copied

How many people live in the path of the eclipse?

An estimated 31.6 million people live in the path of totality for the April 8 eclipse. An additional 150 million people are within 200 miles of the path of totality, according to NASA, and millions more will be able to see a partial eclipse. 

That's more than were in the path of the last one to cross the U.S. , in 2017.

"This eclipse, in particular, is I think set to be even more spectacular," astronomer Lucianne Walkowicz told CBS Chicago.

"Totality will actually last almost a full two minutes longer in some places" compared to last time, she said.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-df06084d link copied

Will the weather be clear for eclipse viewing today?

Cloud cover and storms may interfere with eclipse viewing in Texas, where volatile weather is expected. For Dallas and Austin, "it's a tough go," says CBS New York weathercaster Lonnie Quinn, while San Antonio will have "some of the worst weather of all."

But farther north and east, better conditions are expected, giving many in the Midwest and Northeast a good chance to see the eclipse. Some clouds may move in and out over Missouri, Indiana and into western New York, says The Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore. 

Quinn has more details on the forecast in the video below.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-82620d12 link copied

How to know if your eclipse glasses are safe

The only glasses that should be used to look at a partially eclipsed sun are eclipse glasses that meet an international standard, ISO 12312-2, according to the American Optometric Association. 

Don't use sunglasses, smoked glass, an unfiltered telescope and magnifiers or polarized filters as a way to view the eclipse. Looking at an eclipse without proper protection can cause eye damage.

Real eclipse glasses  will have a notation about the international standard somewhere on their body, to verify that they reduce visible sunlight to a safe level, and block ultraviolet and infrared radiation.

Before buying, make sure the glasses are advertised as meeting this standard. And beware, there are many fakes on the market.

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-e978064d link copied

How to make solar eclipse glasses, cereal box viewers and pinhole projectors to watch the eclipse safely

While solar eclipse glasses are available for sale, there are several safe alternatives you can make or find at home to help you enjoy the eclipse, experts say. 

If you have access, you can use No. 14 welder's glasses or aluminized mylar plastic sheets. You can also make a homemade pinhole projector using a piece of paper or create an eclipse viewer from a cereal box. Here are instructions.

Eye protection during the eclipse is important to prevent eye damage. Don't use normal sunglasses — they do not offer enough protection.

Read more here

• https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/watch-total-solar-eclipse-2024/#post-update-7d662c3d link copied

Aliza Chasan is a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics.