Trump speaks with Colombian President Petro amid growing tensions; Colombia describes it as “constructive”

President Trump spoke by phone with Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday, following months of tension between the two leaders. overwhelmed In recent days, Mr. Trump has called Colombia a “sick man” and suggested that military action in the country “sounds good to me.”

Mr. Trump said on Truth Social he “appreciated [Petro’s] call and tone,” adding that the two leaders plan to meet at the White House at some point. The US president said Petro called “to explain the drug situation and other disagreements we’ve had.”

The Colombian Embassy in the United States said in a statement statement the country “welcomes the constructive tone of the exchange” and “remains committed to an open dialogue”.

Relations between the United States and Colombia have been strained for months, with the Trump administration accusing the Colombian government of failing to contain rising cocaine production. In October last year, Mr Trump called Petro an “illegal drug leader” and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sanctions against Petro and his familysaying he “allowed drug cartels to thrive and refused to put an end to this activity.”

Petro, for his part, is a fervent critic of the strengthening of the American army near Latin America. He denounced the Trump administration’s strikes on suspected drug boats in a September speech to the United Nations, and days later he told a protest rally in New York that members of the U.S. military should “disobey Trump’s orders.” The State Department revoked Petro’s visa in response, calling his actions “reckless and inflammatory.”

Tensions have escalated since the US military’s nighttime capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend, which Petro denounced as an act of “aggression”.

A day after the operation, Mr. Trump expressed his anger at Petro, telling reporters: “Colombia is also very sick, run by a sick man who likes to make cocaine and sell it to the United States, and he’s not going to do that for very long.”

Asked if that meant there could be some sort of U.S. operation in Colombia, Mr. Trump said: “That sounds good to me.”

Petro – a former member of a guerrilla group and Colombia’s first left-wing leader in decades – responded forcefully early Monday morning. He written the that he “swore never to touch a weapon again”, but “for the sake of my country, I would take the weapons I do not want”.