John McNamara, a native of New York City and a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, has assumed the role of Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim, at the United States Embassy in Bogota, Colombia as of February 1, 2025. McNamara brings over two decades of diplomatic experience to this position.
Previously, McNamara served as U.S. Chief of Mission to the Dutch Caribbean in Curacao. His earlier roles include Deputy Chief of Mission/Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Lima and various positions within the Department of State across Latin America and the Caribbean. Notably, he completed three tours at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota where he held Consular, Counternarcotics, and Political officer roles. He was also Political Counselor during Colombia's peace negotiations with FARC and later served as Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Nassau.
McNamara's service record extends beyond Latin America; he was a Provincial Advisor in Babylon, Iraq and later worked as Deputy Director on a Transition Team embedded at Iraq's Ministry of Interior in East Baghdad. In Afghanistan, he served as Deputy Director for Kandahar's Provincial Reconstruction Team and Director for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
In Washington D.C., his assignments included serving as Senior Venezuela Desk Officer and Deputy Director for Mexican Affairs Office while also teaching at National Defense University.
A veteran of the U.S. Army primarily stationed in Latin America with a tour on Joint Staff at Pentagon, McNamara holds a Bachelor’s degree from West Point and a Master’s degree from Army Command & General Staff College. He is fluent in Spanish.