CENTRAL AMERICA — Israeli President Isaac Herzog will depart Israel on May 6 for a four-day official visit to Panama and Costa Rica aimed at strengthening bilateral ties. The trip will include the inauguration of Costa Rican President-elect Laura Fernandez Delgado and meetings with senior government officials in both countries.

Herzog will travel first to Panama, where he is scheduled to meet with President Jose Raul Mulino and other government officials. The stop marks the first visit by an Israeli president to Panama, which currently holds a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Herzog and Mulino previously discussed bilateral ties at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.

In Costa Rica, Herzog will attend the inauguration of Fernandez Delgado at the invitation of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves Robles. He is also scheduled to attend a dinner for heads of state and to meet with members of the Jewish communities in both countries.

"President Herzog's visit to Panama and Costa Rica reflects the importance of Israel's ties with countries across Latin America and the renewed momentum in Israel's relations with Central and South American nations," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. In 2024, Panama and Costa Rica abstained from a United Nations resolution calling on Israel to end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. Panama was one of 12 countries to abstain from a September vote in support of a two-state solution.

The visit comes as Israel faces growing international isolation over its regional wars. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes related to the war on Gaza.

Israel signed a free trade agreement with Costa Rica in December and opened a trade office in Jerusalem, a city considered illegally occupied under international law. The U.S. Department of State expressed support for both the agreement and the trade office.

Elsewhere in the region, Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have emerged as vocal critics of Israel. Israeli forces seized and detained participants in a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza that included Brazilian national Thiago Avila. Lula da Silva called the seizure an unjustifiable action that should be roundly condemned. "The detention of the flotilla activists in international waters had already represented a serious affront to international law," Lula da Silva said.