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President Donald Trump met for astir 2 hours with Colombian President Gustavo Petro astatine the White House connected Tuesday (February 3, 2026), conducting a affable face-to-face specified weeks aft threatening subject enactment against the South American state and accusing the person of pumping cocaine into the United States.
Mr. Trump said afterwards that helium and Mr. Petro had not been "the champion of friends," suggesting that helium had felt insulted by the President of Colombia due to the fact that helium did not cognize him and due to the fact that the 2 had ne'er met.
Afterwards, helium had changed his mind, saying, "We had a precise bully meeting. I thought helium was terrific." Mr. Trump said the brace discussed practice successful counter-narcotics operations and a fig of different topics.
The gathering followed Mr. Trump saying Mr. Petro, who has continued to criticise Mr. Trump and the U.S. cognition to seizure Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro, has go much consenting to enactment with his medication to stem the travel of amerciable drugs from Colombia.
The bully feelings seemed to beryllium mutual
Mr. Petro posted connected X a representation of Mr. Trump's publication "The Art of the Deal," with a signed inscription reading, "You are great." Colombia's President wrote, ironically, successful Spanish, "What did Trump mean to accidental to maine with this dedication? I don't recognize English precise well."
Mr. Petro besides said successful an interrogation with Colombia's Caracol Radio that helium asked Mr. Trump to assistance mediate an escalating commercialized warfare betwixt his state and Ecuador.
Still, past atrocious humor continues to loom. Indeed, successful the days anterior to Tuesday's (February 3, 2026) meeting, Mr. Petro, a leftist politician, continued to poke astatine the blimpish U.S. President, calling Mr. Trump an "accomplice to genocide" successful the Gaza Strip, portion asserting that the seizure of Mr. Maduro was a kidnapping.
And up of his departure for Washington, Mr. Petro called connected Colombians to instrumentality to the streets of Bogotá during the White House meeting. He plans to clasp a quality league astatine the Colombian Embassy successful Washington aboriginal Tuesday (Ferbuary 3, 2026).
Mr. Petro brought on Foreign Relations Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio, Defence Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sánchez Suárez and Ambassador Daniel García-Peña, portion Mr. Trump was joined by Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who was calved successful Colombia.
Just minutes earlier the gathering started, Mr. Petro, successful a video shared by his office, described himself arsenic a person who has denounced and prosecuted cause traffickers.
Accompanied by 1 of his daughters and his granddaughter, helium lamented that astir of his children unrecorded extracurricular of Colombia, successful exile, owed to the combat helium is waging against cause trafficking. "We person genuinely suffered its effects directly," Mr. Petro said.
An state of U.S.
Historically, Colombia has been a U.S. ally. For the past 30 years, the U.S. has worked intimately with Colombia, the world's largest shaper of cocaine, to apprehension cause traffickers, fend disconnected rebel groups and boost economical improvement successful agrarian areas. Colombia is besides designated by the U.S. arsenic a large non-NATO ally.
But relations betwixt the leaders person been strained by Mr. Trump's massing of U.S. forces successful the portion for unprecedented deadly subject strikes targeting suspected drug-smuggling boats successful the Caribbean Sea and the eastbound Pacific. At slightest 126 radical person been killed successful 36 known strikes.
In October, Mr. Trump's Republican medication announced it was imposing sanctions connected Mr. Petro, his household and a subordinate of his authorities implicit accusations of engagement successful the planetary cause trade.
The Treasury Department levelled the penalties against Mr. Petro; his wife, Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia; his son, Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos; and Colombian Interior Minister Armando Alberto Benedetti.
The sanctions, which had to beryllium waived to let Mr. Petro to question to Washington this week, came aft the U.S. medication successful September announced it was adding Colombia to a database of nations failing to cooperate successful the cause warfare for the archetypal clip successful 3 decades.
Then came the audacious subject cognition past period to seizure Mr. Maduro and his woman to look national cause conspiracy charges, a determination that Mr. Petro has forcefully denounced. Following Mr. Maduro's ouster, Mr. Trump enactment Colombia connected announcement and ominously warned Mr. Petro helium could beryllium next.
Colombia is "run by a sick antheral who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States," Mr. Trump said of Mr. Petro past month. "And he's not gonna beryllium doing it precise long, fto maine archer you."
But a fewer days later, tensions eased somewhat aft a telephone betwixt the leaders. Trump said Petro, successful their hour-long conversation, explained "the cause concern and different disagreements." And Trump extended an invitation to Petro for the White House visit.
Trump skips greeting Petro, who comes bearing gifts
The Colombian President said helium had planned to usage the gathering to item his country's counter-narcotics initiatives to Mr. Trump. And successful a diplomatic motion amid the acrimony, Colombian officials said Petro came bearing gifts, including a signature Wounaan indigenous handbasket from Colombia's Chocó portion for Trump and a handmade gown crafted by indigenous artisans from Nariño for archetypal woman Melania Trump.
Mr. Petro's bureau released a photograph of Mr. Trump and Mr. Petro chatting arsenic they walked the colonnade toward the Oval Office astatine the commencement of the visit. García-Peña, Colombia's envoy to Washington, is captured successful the framework holding a transcript of Mr. Trump's publication "The Art of the Deal."
Mr. Trump skipped connected greeting Mr. Petro upon his accomplishment and posing for a photograph with him successful beforehand of the North Portico of the White House earlier a gathered press, a acceptable portion for astir overseas leaders' visits. Instead, Mr. Petro arrived astatine a broadside entranceway of the White House on West Executive Avenue, minutes earlier the commencement of their scheduled meeting.
The 2 leaders did not present associated statements earlier the press, thing Mr. Trump typically does astatine the commencement oregon extremity of astir person visits.
