US President Donald Trump has announced he will meet Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the White House in the “near future,” just days after suggesting that a military-style operation against Colombia “sounds good.”
The comments come shortly after a dramatic US raid in neighbouring Venezuela, where American forces seized President Nicolás Maduro during an overnight operation in Caracas on Saturday.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on Wednesday that the death toll from the raid was far higher than first reported, claiming more than 100 people were killed.
Earlier local media reports said 23 Venezuelan soldiers and 32 Cuban soldiers died when US troops stormed Maduro’s compound.
Trump said he recently spoke with Petro by phone, during which the Colombian leader explained “the situation of drugs and other disagreements.” Trump added that he appreciated Petro’s “tone.” Just days earlier, however, Trump had publicly warned Petro to “watch his ass.”
Colombia plays a central role in the region’s drug trade, especially cocaine, and also holds significant oil reserves. The country is rich in natural resources, producing gold, silver, emeralds, platinum and coal.
Meanwhile, the White House said the US will control sales of Venezuelan oil “indefinitely” as it moves to roll back restrictions on Venezuela’s crude exports to global markets.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after the Venezuela operation, Trump launched a sharp attack on Petro, calling him a “sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”
“He’s not going to be doing it for very long,” Trump added.
Petro responded by warning that Colombia would “take up arms” if the US carried out any military action against his country.
“If you detain a president whom much of my people want and respect, you will unleash the people’s jaguar,” Petro wrote on X.
Despite the heated exchange, Trump struck a very different tone late on Wednesday. Writing on his Truth Social platform, he called his conversation with Petro a “Great Honor” and said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would coordinate with Colombia’s foreign minister to arrange Petro’s visit to Washington.
The US imposed sanctions on Petro in October, accusing him of failing to stop drug trafficking and allowing criminal cartels to “flourish.”
At the time, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said cocaine production in Colombia had “exploded to the highest rate in decades” since Petro took office in 2022, claiming the surge was “flooding the United States and poisoning Americans.”
Petro pushed back, saying he has been fighting drug trafficking “for decades” and insisting his government has slowed the expansion of coca crops.
Like Venezuela, Colombia also sits on large oil reserves.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, condemned the US operation to remove Maduro, calling it a “stain on our relations such as had never occurred in our history.”
Still, she left the door open for cooperation, saying Venezuela remains “open to energy relations where all parties benefit.”
