The meeting comes after diplomatic tensions between the two leaders, with Petro criticizing US military actions in the region and Trump responding with personal attacks.
The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced that he will meet with his North American counterpart, Donald Trump, on February 3 in the United States, to discuss the fight against drug trafficking and improve bilateral relations.
“It will be on February 3rd. We will see the results of this meeting, which is crucial”, the leftist leader said on Wednesday, during a meeting of the Colombian executive, broadcast on public television.
“The Council of Ministers has a theme [narcotráfico]which is what intensified the debate between the United States and Colombia — between governments, between presidents — and which resulted in a possible meeting”, declared Petro.
The President reiterated that he will present his administration’s data on drug trafficking to Trump so that “he really understands what happened in the fight (…) against drugs”.
“My intention is that Colombians, in general, from all parts of the country, do not suffer and remain at peace,” he added.
Colombia’s Defense Minister, Pedro Sánchez Suárez, met on Wednesday in Washington with US government leaders to discuss the joint fight against drug trafficking.
“We had a very open dialogue, as always. What we are doing in Colombia is fighting a common enemy that we have with the United States: drug trafficking. The challenge is how to increase efficiency in eradicating this poison”, declared Sánchez at a press conference, alongside the Colombian ambassador to the USA, Daniel García Peña.
The minister highlighted Bogotá’s efforts to eradicate drug trafficking, citing the seizure of more than 2,840 tons of cocaine.
“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 had. I thanked him for his call and his tone, and I look forward to meeting him in the near future,” Trump said on the social network he owns, Truth Social.
The North American Head of State said that “preparations are being made between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia” for the meeting.
Petro criticized the USA, Trump responded with personal attacks.
Petro had harshly criticized the Trump Administration’s military action in the region and accused the United States of having Nicolás Maduro, “without legal basis”.
Trump responded that he should “watch his ass” and described Petro on Sunday as a “sick man” who “likes to do cocaine.”
In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais published on January 10, the Colombian President claimed that the US had a military operation planned in the country.
Gustavo Petro stated that he feared being the target of a US operation like the one that occurred in Venezuela, on Saturday, when US forces captured Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores.
