First Lady Jill Biden will be headed to Latin America on Wednesday. She will leave Washington for a six-day visit to three countries: Ecuador, Panama and Costa Rica. The White House released an official communication confirming her tour to this region.
The US Embassy in Costa Rica issued an official press release, mentioning: “First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Ecuador, Panamá, and Costa Rica from May 18 – May 23, 2022 in advance of the U.S.-hosted Summit of the Americas that will take place in Los Angeles the week of June 6-10, 2022.”
Her daughter, Ashley Biden, will accompany her throughout the voyage which will “emphasize the importance of the US partnership,” as well as the three countries’ commitment to democracy, “in a region where democratic backsliding is increasingly common,” says the statement.
Biden will leave for Quito on Wednesday afternoon and during the evening she will greet the US Embassy staff.
On Thursday, she will meet with President Guillermo Lasso and First Lady María de Lourdes Alcívar de Lasso. She will deliver a keynote speech focused on democracy and the challenges of migrating Latin Americans.
Along with Ecuardor’s First Lady, Biden is scheduled to visit a school “hosting a US-supported accelerated learning program that helps Ecuadorian, Venezuelan, and Colombian teenagers — who were previously out of school for at least two years — rejoin the formal school system.”
Afterwards, she will fly to Panama where she will gather with First Lady Yazmín Colón de Cortizo. Both will arrive at a school where the “See and Hear to Learn” program is being implemented. This program provides eye and hearing exams – and eyeglasses and hearing aids, as needed – to students.
Biden will also meet, during the evening, with the US Embassy representatives in Panama City.
The First Lady will go to the The Good Samaritan Home, a shelter which houses those living with HIV/AIDS and assists with their care.
Once in San José, Costa Rica, her first reunion will be held with Costa Rican women who have participated in U.S. Department of State programs focused on women’s entrepreneurship and economic empowerment, at the Chief of Mission Residence.
Jill Biden will then have dinner with newly-elect President Rodrigo Chaves and First Lady Signe Zeikate.
On May 22, Jill Biden is expected to visit the National Children’s Hospital. Later she will meet with U.S. embassy staff at the Chief of Mission Residence in San José.
Finally, she will go to a community center supported by “Planting the Seeds of Security,” which is a program led by Costa Rica in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State, which aims to transform the security of local communities to provide prevention programs, including healthy outlets and safe spaces for Costa Rican youth.
After a busy tour, the First Lady will leave Costa Rica for Joint Base Andrews.
