United States presidential visits to the Caribbean

Nine United States presidents and one president-elect have made presidential visits to the Caribbean since 1928. Franklin D. Roosevelt made the most trips to the Caribbean islands (14), either for vacation or while involved with Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II. Of the 13 sovereign countries in the region, four—Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines—have not as of yet been visited by an American president.

Islands in and near the Caribbean Sea.

Table of visits

Note: This table does not include presidential visits to places that are part of the United States.

President Dates Country or territory Locations Key details
Warren G. Harding[1] November 30, 1920  Jamaica Kingston Stopped while returning to the U.S. from Panama. (Visit made as President-elect.)
Calvin Coolidge[2] January 15–17, 1928  Cuba Havana Met with President Gerardo Machado.[3] Addressed the Sixth International Conference of American States.[4]
Franklin D. Roosevelt[5] February 6–14, 1933  Bahamas Fishing trip. (Visit made as President-elect.)
March 29 – April 11, 1934 Elbow Cay, Gun Cay[6] Fishing trip.
July 5–6, 1934  Haiti Cap Haitien Informal visit en route to vacation in Hawaii.
March 27 – April 6, 1935  Bahamas Cat Cays, Lobos Cay, Great Inagua Island, Crooked Island[6] Fishing trip.
March 24 – April 7, 1936 Nassau, Great Inagua Island Fishing trip. Luncheon with Governor Bede Clifford and the President of the Legislative Council, George Johnson.[7]

November 21, 1936

  Trinidad and Tobago Port of Spain Stopped on the way to South America.
December 11, 1936 Stopped while returning to the United States.
December 5, 1940  Jamaica Kingston Inspected British base sites for possible American use.
December 8, 1940  Saint Lucia Inspected British base sites for possible American use.
December 8, 1940 Martinique Fort Saint Louis Conferred with U.S. officials.
December 9, 1940  British Leeward Islands Antigua Inspected British base sites for possible American use.
December 12–13, 1940  Bahamas Eleuthera Island Inspected British base sites for possible American use. Met with the Governor, H.R.H. the Duke of Windsor.
January 11, 1943  Trinidad and Tobago Port of Spain Overnight stop en route to Casablanca.
January 29, 1943 Port of Spain Overnight stop en route home from the Casablanca Conference.
John F. Kennedy[8] December 18–21, 1962  Bahamas Nassau Conferred with British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Concluded Nassau Agreement on nuclear defense systems.
Gerald Ford[9] December 14–16, 1974 Martinique Fort-de-France Met with President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Jimmy Carter[10] January 4–9, 1979 Guadeloupe Basse-Terre Met informally with President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and British Prime Minister James Callaghan.
Ronald Reagan[11] April 7–8, 1982  Jamaica Kingston Official Visit. Met with Prime Minister Edward Seaga.
April 8–11, 1982  Barbados Bridgetown Official Visit. Met with the Prime Ministers of Barbados, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Christopher and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
February 20, 1986  Grenada St. George's Met with Governor General Paul Scoon and Prime Minister Herbert Blaize, and with the Prime Ministers of Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Christopher and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and Trinidad and Tobago. Dedicated a memorial to U.S. servicemen.
George H. W. Bush[12] December 16, 1989 Saint Martin Marigot Informal meeting with President François Mitterrand.
March 14, 1991 Martinique Fort-de-France Discussed the Middle East peace process with President François Mitterrand.
Bill Clinton[13] March 31, 1995  Haiti Port-au-Prince Attended transition ceremony for United Nations Mission in Haiti.
May 9–11, 1997  Barbados Bridgetown Attended the U.S.-Caribbean Community summit meeting. Signed the Partnership for Prosperity and Security in the Caribbean pact.
Barack Obama April 17–18. 2009  Trinidad and Tobago Port of Spain Attended the 5th Summit of the Americas.[14]
April 9–10, 2015  Jamaica Kingston Met with Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller. Visited the Bob Marley Museum. Attended a town hall meeting at the University of the West Indies. Laid wreath at the National Heroes Park.[15][16]
March 20–22, 2016  Cuba Havana Official visit. Met with President Raúl Castro. Laid a wreath at the José Martí Memorial. Addressed Cuban civil society organizations at the Gran Teatro de La Habana. Toured Old Havana and visited the Havana Cathedral.[17] Attended an exhibition baseball game between the Cuba national baseball team and the Tampa Bay Rays.[18]

See also

References
  1. "Travels of President Warren G. Harding". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  2. Travels of President Calvin Coolidge U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian WebCitation archive
  3. Kim, Susanna (December 18, 2014). "Here's What Happened the Last Time a US President Visited Cuba". ABC News. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  4. "Calvin Coolidge: Foreign Affairs". millercenter.org. Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  5. Travels of President Franklin D. Roosevelt U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-12-04 at WebCite
  6. Cross, Robert (2003). Sailor in the Whitehouse: The Seafaring Life of FDR. Naval Institute Press. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  7. Dropkin, Les (March 2001). "Cruising With The President: An Annotated Chronology of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Cruises During the Potomac Years" (PDF). usspotomac.org. The Potomac Association. pp. 4–5. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  8. Travels of President John F. Kennedy U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-12-04 at WebCite
  9. Travels of President Gerald R. Ford U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-12-04 at WebCite
  10. Travels of President Jimmy Carter U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-12-04 at WebCite
  11. Travels of President Ronald Reagan U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-12-04 at WebCite
  12. Travels of President George H. W. Bush U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-12-04 at WebCite
  13. Travels of President Bill Clinton U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian Archived 2011-12-04 at WebCite
  14. Travels of President Barack Obama U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian
  15. "PHOTOS: Obama lays wreath at National Heroes' Park". The Jamaica Observer. April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  16. Saenz, Arlette (April 9, 2015). "President Obama Feels the 'Love' on Jamaica Trip". ABC News. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  17. Morales, Gisselle (March 19, 2016). "Obama: Three Days in Cuba". Escambray. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  18. "President Obama travels to Cuba today for historic visit". WGN-TV. Associated Press. March 20, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
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