Samantha Schmidt

Bogotá, Colombia

Bogotá bureau chief, covering the Andes and Southern Cone regions of South America

Education: Indiana University, BA in journalism and Arabic

Samantha Schmidt is The Washington Post's Bogotá bureau chief, covering all of Spanish-speaking South America. She previously reported on gender and family issues for the local desk, with a focus on the LGBTQ community. She joined The Post in 2016 as a reporter on the Morning Mix team, covering news overnight from around the country and the world. She also has worked as a reporting fellow for the New York Times.
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Latest from Samantha Schmidt

Crossing jungle and desert, migrants navigate a sea of misinformation

As migrants head for the U.S. border, social media surges with conflicting information on what the end of Title 42 will mean for them.

May 14, 2023

Ecuadoran lawmakers put President Lasso on impeachment’s path

Guillermo Lasso, accused of embezzlement, denies wrongdoing; a legislative oversight commission has recommended against impeachment.

May 9, 2023

Juan Guaidó says he felt U.S. pressure to get on plane to Miami

The Venezuelan opposition leader appeared in Bogotá hoping to attend a summit. Instead, he told The Post, he felt pressured to leave by U.S. and Colombian officials.

May 3, 2023

El grupo narcotraficante más poderoso de Colombia busca negociar la paz

El grupo armado, que tiene el control de una parte importante del país, quiere negociar con el gobierno.

April 3, 2023

Inside Colombia’s most powerful drug trafficking group and its case for peace

The armed group, which has control over a significant part of the country, wants negotiations with the government.

April 3, 2023

Pregnant Russians are streaming into Argentina. Officials are suspicious.

Authorities say Russians are taking advantage of the country's comparatively open immigration rules by arriving, giving birth, applying for passports and leaving.

March 2, 2023

39 killed when U.S.-bound migrant bus goes over cliff in Panama

The bus was transporting the migrants to a shelter when the driver missed the entrance, turned around and lost control of the vehicle.

February 15, 2023

Four suspects arrested in Florida in assassination of Haitian president

Federal prosecutors detailed their account of how a group of men in South Florida allegedly developed, funded and directed a plot to assassinate the president.

February 14, 2023

She lost her partner in the protests. Then her twins. She’s still at it.

In Ayacucho, Peru, the deaths of protesters and official accusations of terrorism are reopening old wounds. The region was brutalized by the Shining Path.

February 4, 2023

They depend on Machu Picchu to survive. They shut it down anyway.

The town that relies on the tourist site has declared a “total strike.”

January 26, 2023