The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Wednesday (7) that he spoke by telephone with the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, and said that both would meet at the White House, after months of exchanges of barbs between the two leaders.
“It was a great honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the drug situation and other disagreements we have been having. I appreciated his call and his tone, and I hope to meet with him soon,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social network.
“Preparations are being made between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia [Rosa Villavicencio]. The meeting will take place at the White House, in Washington, DC”, added the American president.
The conversation took place after tension between the two leaders increased in recent days. On Sunday (4), after the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, Trump described Petro as “a sick man who likes to produce cocaine and sell it to the United States, and he won’t continue doing that for long.”
When asked by a reporter if this meant that there could be an operation in Colombia soon, the Republican replied: “To me, it sounds great.”
In response, Petro called Trump “senile” and said he was willing to “take up arms” to defend the country.
Last year, Petro was the target of economic sanctions by the Trump administration and had his American visa revoked. The first measure was based on an allegation that the leftist president had allowed drug cartels to “flourish” in Colombia.
The second, in an accusation that Petro had encouraged “American soldiers to disobey orders” during a pro-Palestine protest in New York in September. The US president also withdrew aid to Colombia.
