February 4, 2026 | 07:06 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Colombian President Gustavo Petro met US President Donald Trump for the first time at the White House on Tuesday with tensions between the two leaders taking center stage after the US operation that captured Venezuela's president last month.
The talks were private and lasted for about two hours. However, after the meeting, Petro said Trump offered to mediate between Colombia and Ecuador in an ensuing trade war.
Trump said the meeting between the two leaders was "very good," adding that he was working on sanctions, among other things, with Petro.
"My impression of the meeting a few hours ago is first and foremost that it was positive," Petro told reporters.
"You are great," Trump wrote to Gustavo Petro as he signed a copy of his 1987 book "Art of the Deal."
In a seeming joke on X, Petro shared the signature, asking: "What did Trump mean by this dedication? I don't understand English very well."
The White House released a photo of the two leaders in the Oval Office, but did not share any immediate details of what was discussed.
Petro and Trump have had a contentious relationship, with the Colombian president criticizing US moves in the Caribbean, and Trump threatening Colombia over cocaine shipments into the US.
Trump administration officials said the two planned to discuss counternarcotics efforts and security cooperation.
On Tuesday, Colombia extradited a drug lord to the US, resuming extraditions that had been stalled for months as the government attempts negotiations with armed groups that run the drug trade. On Friday last week, Colombia also agreed to accept US deportation flights.
Trump on Monday downplayed his tensions with Petro, signalling the Colombian president is more willing to work with Washington to stop the flow of drugs.
"Somehow after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice," Trump told reporters. "He changed his attitude very much ... We're gonna have a good meeting," Trump said ahead of the visit.
Trump and Petro's tense ties
Both Trump and Petro are known for their unpredictability and making bombastic statements.
Trump invited Petro to Washington last month in the wake of the US operation that ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, which the Colombian leader heavily criticized.
Trump at the time called Petro a "sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States."
When asked in January by a reporter whether the US would carry out a similar operation on Colombia, Trump said, "It sounds good to me."
However, Petro agreed to visit the US after a phone call with Trump that both leaders described positively.
Petro, a leftist leader who was elected in 2022, has frequently clashed with Trump ever since the US president returned to office last year.
Amid an ongoing spat, the Trump administration has leveled sanctions against Petro and other members of his family, accusing him of failing to curb the flow of cocaine into the US.
The sanctions had to be waived to allow Petro to travel to Washington this week.
Colombia has long been America's staunchest ally in Latin America, and at the center of the US counternarcotics strategy abroad.
Read: Trump to Meet Colombian President at White House Amid Rising Tensions
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