The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said this Monday (2), during a press conference at the White House, that the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, “changed his stance” after the operation carried out by American forces in Caracas, Venezuela, which resulted in the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro on January 3.
“He was certainly very critical (of the US) before this (the operation that captured Maduro). But, somehow, after the operation in Venezuela, he became very friendly. He completely changed his attitude. Very friendly, very friendly now,” said the American president.
According to Trump, the change in behavior influenced his willingness to welcome the Colombian president to the White House.
“I don’t know what happened, but he is very friendly. I really want to see him”, he said, commenting on the scheduled meeting between the two leaders, which should take place this Tuesday (3).
The meeting between Trump and Petro will focus on topics related to the fight against drug trafficking, bilateral cooperation, migration and the political situation in Venezuela, according to information released by Colombian authorities to the agency EFE.
According to the EFEPetro will bring to the meeting a basket with coffee and chocolates produced by families involved in voluntary substitution programs for illicit crops in Colombia. The gesture seeks to demonstrate the results of the Colombian leftist government’s policies to reduce coca planting and expand legal economic alternatives in regions affected by drug trafficking.
The visit comes after a period of crisis in relations between Washington and Bogotá. During this period, the United States removed Colombia from anti-drug certification and included the Colombian president and people around him on sanctions lists from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), on suspicion of links to drug trafficking. Petro rejected the accusations and claims that his government increased drug seizures and contained the expansion of illegal cultivation.
