In 2020, Jaime Alemán became the first Latin American to travel to all 193 countries and the two observer states recognized by the UN (Palestine and the Vatican), in addition to visiting independent territories like Kosovo and Taiwan. The 72-year-old, who was born in Panama City, Panama, completed his journey around the world in the Republic of Nauru – a Micronesian state – just a few days before the borders closed due to the Covid pandemic.
His adventures continued afterwards. In 2024, he visited the polar regions. And, on May 31, 2025, he traveled aboard Blue Origin’s NS-32 mission, becoming, he says, the first Panamanian to circumnavigate the globe and travel through space. Upon returning from the Kármán line, he thought: “Wow, this is incredible, I’m the first human to have done all this and, on top of that, I’m a Latin American. A little Panamanian from a country of four million people, with my tiny passport,” he recounts, his voice and eyes welling with emotion.
In addition to his globetrotting, Alemán also hopes to be remembered for signing, back when he was minister of justice, the decree that removed General Manuel Antonio Noriega as head of the Panama Defense Forces. On the first anniversary of his other most significant achievement, however, this passionate traveler has another mission: to tell his story.
The lawyer and diplomat – who also served as Panama’s ambassador to the United States – has written a book titled The Grand Slam of Travel: 193 Countries + North & South Poles + Space, which is forthcoming in 2027. He’s also working with a Hollywood producer on a documentary about his life.
Alemán plans to complete another record with his daughter: becoming the first father and daughter in history to visit every country.
Question. How did your passion for travel begin?
Answer. I was born in 1953. The only thing available was the Encyclopedia Britannica. There were no photos, nothing of the sort; it was your imagination that led you to think, “What lies beyond the words you see in the encyclopedia?” Then, they started selling sticker albums… and I was obsessed with the one [about] the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. It’s incredible how that passion for those gardens – I visited Iraq and [found that they] no longer exist – culminated in something that no human being has ever done before.
Q. When did you start traveling?
A. When I was 11, my father was appointed as the negotiator for the new Panama Canal treaties with the United States. And so, we went to Washington. At one point, one of the nannies who looked after me came and said, “I’m going to Niagara Falls with some other nannies I’ve met here.” And I went with them. I’m very spiritual, I’m fascinated by nature… and I was captivated.
Years later, I did my first year of university in the United States and my second in France. When I arrived in Europe, every weekend I would go off to discover a different place. That’s how this love for travel, for exploration, began. It’s like an insatiable thirst that I still have.
Q. What was that trip through Europe like?
A. Fascinating. I was able to go behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany. [I saw a lot of] poverty in Poland. I went to Moscow and to Riga, when the Soviet Union [still existed].
Q. And where did you go next?
A. I returned to Indiana for my junior year of college and saw an ad that said, “Semester at Sea: Attend College Around the World by Boat.” And I spent five months sailing around the world. We left Miami and went to Morocco, then Ivory Coast, Ghana and South Africa. That was a transformative time. You never really let go of those memories; I have tears in my eyes right now as I speak, thinking about that magical time.
I had no idea what South Africa was like. And, one day, we were on the boat at 5:30 [in the morning], entering the bay… and I opened my eyes and the sun was just rising over Table Mountain in Cape Town. I thought, “I can’t believe how lucky I am to be here.” From there, I went to Mombasa, Kenya, another incredible experience; Malindi, on the Kenyan coast, has spectacular beaches. Then, I drove with friends to Tanzania. We stopped in Sri Lanka and then India. We went to Malaysia and continued on to Singapore and China. After that, we went to the Philippines, Taiwan [and] Hawaii. I then arrived in Los Angeles and, from there, I spent five days in Mexico City.
Q. How did you decide to visit all the remaining countries?
A. In 2015, my wife went to work at the [Panamanian] Embassy in France. I went with her; I was already semi-retired. The first night in Paris, she said to me, “I have a wonderful idea. You’ve traveled to 120 countries… and there are 193 in the world. Why not take advantage of being in France and having a diplomatic passport [to visit the rest]?”
Q. How did you manage to travel to such hard-to-reach countries?
A. In 2017, I was in Turkmenistan with my daughter. [We were standing] in a beautiful place in the desert called the Darvaza gas crater, a collapsed natural gas platform. She said to me, “Dad, look who’s there. That’s Simon Cockerell, the [tour operator who always goes to] North Korea.” I didn’t have a ticket – it’s very difficult to enter the country – so I went over and introduced myself. He said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take you.” I arrived in North Korea and he later opened the doors for me to Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Q. Do you have a favorite destination?
A. Tanzania is possibly my favorite country. It has Zanzibar, with its spectacular sea; it has Kilimanjaro, a snow-capped mountain in the heart of Africa; the plains of Arusha, with all the elephants; and the Ngorongoro Crater, one of the most beautiful places in the world. I say it’s the place where God started the world. There’s also the Serengeti and Lake Victoria. And, besides that, [the Tanzanian] people are the best; they’re cheerful and optimistic, full of life and creativity.
Q. What did you feel when you traveled to space?
A. What captivates you is the darkness, the depth. You feel like a tiny ant: insignificant. But also, in those four minutes in space, you imagine everything that lies ahead: “[Is there a] little place, a tiny corner of that infinite space, where some kind of life exists?” Because it’s out there, it’s out there. It’s just a matter of years.
I tell my grandchildren: “I don’t think life will give me the opportunity to go to the Moon. I would kill to go there, or to Mars… but I hope one of you achieves it and can take my dreams, my hopes, to infinity. Literally to infinity.”
Q. Have you ever gotten tired of traveling?
A. My passion for discovery has never left me. I’ve always had that thirst; it’s been my hobby. Some people are born to play the piano, others to sing, to play soccer… [but traveling has been] my passion. It’s what still keeps me full of life.
I never imagined that I would have the privilege of being the first Latin American to visit every country in the world, as well as the first human to visit the South Pole, the North Pole, [all the] countries and space.
Q. You visited the richest and poorest countries. What did you take away from that contrast?
A. In the end, we’re all the same. There are six things in the world that all human beings aspire to: shelter, water and food, a good education, decent work, good health and security. But bad governments, bad policies, corruption and missteps make these things unattainable in most countries. On the other hand, there are three elements – which are present everywhere in the world – that unite us: music, religion or spirituality, as well as sports.
Briefly…
Which country has the best food? France. Even though I’m happy with a good pizza… and you can find that everywhere.
Your favorite wonder of the world? Machu Picchu, in Peru.
The most romantic destination? Bora Bora. That’s where I had my honeymoon.
A country you would always return to? Tanzania or New Zealand.
Places you still haven’t visited? The Mariana Trench, Tristan da Cunha, or the Faroe Islands.
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