The Spirit of St. Louis Tours Latin America

Dwight Morrow, U.S. ambassador to Mexico, was the catalyst for Lindbergh’s tour of Latin America. He had met Lindbergh on the young aviator’s trip to Washington after his transatlantic flight. Morrow believed Lindbergh might help seal the diplomatic rift between Mexico and the United States.

The State Department approved the flight and suggested the tour be extended to other places in Latin America. U.S. involvement in Nicaragua had created bad feelings toward the United States, and the State Department hoped Lindbergh’s tour would improve the nation’s standing in Central America.

In the US Virgin Islands, Charles Lindbergh sits atop the Spirit of St. Louis and uses what appears to be a wrench on its engine.

Lindbergh flew a 9,5000-mile two-month tour around Central America, the coast of South America and the Caribbean.

A banquet for Charles Lindbergh in Mexico City.

In Panama Charles Lindbergh (seated front right) witnessed a carnival of aquatic sports given in his honor.

While flying to Havanna, Charles Lindbergh wrote his speech on both side of his Caribbean chart.