Trump speaks with Colombian president amid diplomatic tensions

The US leader invited Gustavo Petro, whom he sanctioned last year, to visit the White House

US President Donald Trump has spoken by phone with left-wing Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whom he earlier accused of drug trafficking and threatened with invasion.

The leaders struck a conciliatory tone after a war of words that reignited following the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by US commandos during a raid on Caracas over the weekend.

“It was a Great Honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.

“I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future,” Trump wrote. He added that the sides were working to arrange Petro’s visit to the White House.

Petro told a rally in Bogota that the leaders had spoken for the first time since he was elected president in 2022. “I requested that direct communication be reestablished between the foreign ministers and the presidents. If there is no dialogue, there is war,” Petro said.

The Colombian president later wrote on X that he and Trump had “disagreements regarding his vision of the US relationship with Latin America.” He said he had proposed that the US invest in clean energy projects in the region rather than seek access to oil reserves.

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“Using Latin America solely for oil would lead to the destruction of international law and, ultimately, to barbarism and World War III,” Petro wrote, adding that his proposal was based on “peace, life, and global democracy.”

Trump imposed sanctions on Petro last year and revoked his visa after the Colombian leader denounced what he called “barbaric” US strikes on alleged cartel boats in the Caribbean. Petro argued that the Pentagon was targeting ordinary fishermen, to which Trump responded by labeling Petro an “illegal drug leader.”

In a lengthy post on X earlier this week, Petro wrote that fighting cartels was his top priority and that, as president, he had “ordered the largest seizure of cocaine in world history.” He vowed to defend his country, saying Colombian soldiers would “fire at invaders.”

Petro has described the US raid to capture Maduro as an “abhorrent” violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty. The operation was condemned by several South American countries, as well as Russia and China. Maduro and Flores were brought before a US court in New York on Monday, where they pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking and weapons charges.