On 3 October 2008, Colombia—considered one of the closest U.S. allies in Latin America—sent its defense minister to Russia for the first time to discuss signing a new military cooperation accord.

Colombian Vice-President Francisco Santos said during a visit to Russia in June that his country wants to buy fighter and transport helicopters and radar systems as it broadens its sources of defense equipment.

The two blackjacks, as code named by the NATO, were escorted out of Colombian airspace soon after and a note of protest was sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia to Moscow.

[3] In December 2020, Juan Francisco Espinosa, head of Colombia’s migration agency said that two Russian diplomats were expelled after being accused of trying to obtain military intelligence and information about the energy industry and mineral commodities.

[4] During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Colombian president Iván Duque affirmed his support for Ukraine during a phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, condemning Russia's aggression by stating that, "Colombia has been firm with its voice condemning this opprobrium, it has done so in all multilateral instances and all diplomatic channels as the only NATO partner in Latin America and the Caribbean.“[5]