Colombia’s Petro, Trump hail talks after bitter rift
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A photo released by the White House showing US President Donald Trump (right) and Colombian President Gustavo Petro talking in the Oval Office on Feb 3.
PHOTO: X/@WHITEHOUSE
- Trump and Petro met at the White House on Feb 3 to discuss easing tensions over Venezuela and drugs after prior online insults.
- Petro aims to strengthen the relationship by fighting drug trafficking, "from an approach that prioritises life and peace."
- Colombia extradited a drug lord and agreed to accept US deportation flights as Petro seeks better relations with Trump.
AI generated
WASHINGTON - Colombian President Gustavo Petro and US President Donald Trump appeared to bury the hatchet on Feb 3, after a year of sparring that culminated in threats by Mr Trump to topple the left-wing leader like in Venezuela.
“My impression of the meeting a few hours ago is first and foremost that it was positive,” Mr Petro told reporters after meeting Mr Trump at the White House behind closed doors.
Mr Trump said he “got along very well” with the leader whom he recently accused of pumping cocaine into the United States and had warned to “watch his ass” after the fall of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro
“He and I weren’t exactly the best of friends, but I wasn’t insulted because I never met him. I didn’t know him at all, and we got along very well,” said Mr Trump at the White House, hours after talks ended.
Mr Trump said the two countries were “working on” anti-drug trafficking cooperation, and also on lifting US sanctions the Republican had placed on the South American country.
A signed photo of Colombian President Gustavo Petro (left) shaking hands with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb 3.
PHOTO: AFP
Fears in Bogota that Mr Petro could be subjected to one of Mr Trump’s famously fiery televised Oval Office confrontations were dispelled when reporters were kept out.
Instead it was Mr Petro and his office who posted a series of pictures of the meeting.
“You are great,” Mr Trump wrote to Mr Petro as he signed a copy of his 1987 book “Art of the Deal,” according to the photos.
Despite being worlds apart politically, the Colombian returned praise for the 79-year-old US leader.
“The truth is I like straightforward Americans, people who say what they feel. We’re different, undoubtedly, by a lot. But frankness comes first,” he said.
The two leaders reclined in gold chairs in the Oval Office as they talked, accompanied by US Vice-President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior Colombian officials, according to photos released by Mr Petro’s office.
They also shared a warm handshake in the West Wing colonnade, next to portraits of former US presidents
US President Donald Trump (right) greeting Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro at the White House on Feb 3.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Mr Petro also said after the meeting that Mr Trump had agreed to mediate Colombia’s trade war with Ecuador.
The South American neighbours have imposed import tariffs of 30 per cent on one another in a dispute over how to tackle drug trafficking – also a major political issue for Mr Trump.
‘Common goal’
It was a far cry from the previous harsh rhetoric between a pair who come from absolute opposite ends of the political spectrum.
The Colombian had repeatedly defended Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro, a fellow left-winger, before his capture by US forces on Jan 3.
He also criticised deadly US air strikes
Mr Trump, meanwhile, has been pressing Colombia to crack down on drug trafficking, threatening military strikes on its territory as he had against both Venezuela and Mexico.
After the Maduro raid an emboldened Mr Trump stepped up his barbs, saying a Venezuela-style action against Mr Petro “sounds good to me.”
But things turned a corner after an unexpectedly warm phone call
“I mean, he’s been very nice over the last month or two,” Mr Trump said on Feb 2 on the eve of the visit. “He was certainly critical before that, but somehow, after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice.”
Mr Petro said on X shortly before the meeting that during the talks he was “determined to continue strengthening the relationship between two nations that share a common goal: the fight against drug trafficking.”
In an apparent reference to the strikes on drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that have killed more than 100 people, he added that he wanted to do so “from an approach that prioritises life and peace in our territories.”
In an olive branch to Mr Trump hours before their talks, Mr Petro extradited an accused drug lord to the United States after a months-long suspension on such transfers.
Colombia also abruptly agreed on Jan 30 to accept US deportation flights – reversing the very decision that triggered the falling-out between Mr Trump and Mr Petro in 2025. AFP
