U.S. President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro described their nearly two-hour closed-door discussions at the White House on Tuesday as cordial, signaling a warming of relations after months of tensions between the two countries.
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“We had a very good meeting,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I found him (Mr. Petro) formidable.”
Mr. Petro stated at a press conference at the Colombian Embassy in Washington that he and Mr. Trump discussed cooperation in combating drug trafficking and ways to support economic and energy projects related to Venezuela.
The meeting ended on a “positive and optimistic note,” Mr. Petro assured.
The Colombian president added that he had invited Mr. Trump to visit the Caribbean city of Cartagena and requested U.S. assistance in arbitrating a trade dispute between Colombia and Ecuador, according to some reports.
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This meeting took place after months of strained relations marked by heated exchanges. Mr. Trump had publicly accused Mr. Petro of not controlling drug trafficking and had threatened to take punitive measures, including increasing tariffs and reducing U.S. aid.
Mr. Petro had accused the United States of instrumentalizing its anti-drug policy as a pretext for the use of force in the Caribbean region. His U.S. visa had been revoked in September 2025 following his participation in a pro-Palestinian rally in New York, during which he urged U.S. soldiers to disobey their commander-in-chief’s orders.
While the discussions hinted at a temporary thaw in personal relations between the two leaders, deep disagreements on security, drug policy, and regional military actions remain unresolved, analysts said.
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