🔴 GLOBAL | After Maduro Shock, Trump Signals De-Escalation With Colombia
The temperature across the Americas remains high as Donald Trump pivots from open threats to sudden diplomacy, inviting Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro to the White House just days after accusing him of cocaine trafficking and floating military action against Bogotá.
The reversal followed an hour-long phone call between the two leaders on Wednesday, their first direct contact since Washington’s controversial abduction of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro. Trump said the call covered “the situation of drugs” and “other disagreements,” striking a markedly softer tone.
“It was a Great Honour to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I appreciated his call and tone and look forward to meeting him in the near future.”
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Petro confirmed the shift while addressing large crowds gathered at Bogotá’s Plaza Bolívar, protests he had earlier called to defend Colombia’s sovereignty after Trump’s warnings. “If we don’t speak, there is war. Colombia’s history has taught us that,” Petro told supporters, adding that dialogue had now been re-established.
He said he briefed Trump on Colombia’s anti-drug operations and raised both Venezuela and narcotics trafficking during the call.
Only days earlier, Trump had described Petro as “a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States,” warning he should “watch his a**” and suggesting a military operation in Colombia “sounds good.”
These remarks came amid heightened regional tension after the US operation in Caracas drew condemnation across Latin America.
Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing president, accused domestic political rivals of fuelling the crisis by misleading Washington.
“Those people are responsible for this crisis – let’s call it diplomatic for now,” he said, while reiterating his opposition to the US action in Venezuela, which he labelled “abhorrent.”
Despite the volatile rhetoric at the top, security cooperation continues largely uninterrupted. Colombia’s defence minister told US media that joint work involving the Navy, Coast Guard, Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI remains intact, underlining the depth of bilateral ties.
Over the past two decades, Washington has provided Bogotá with roughly $14bn in military and security assistance, making Colombia the cornerstone of US counternarcotics strategy in the region and a designated Major non-NATO ally.
Analysts caution that the détente may be fragile. “The relationship between presidents Trump and Petro is volatile and unpredictable,” said Anthea McCarthy-Jones, a Latin America specialist at the University of New South Wales.
“It oscillates from threats and inflammatory language to attempts at diplomacy.”
For now, the invitation to Washington signals a pause in escalation, even as Trump’s broader posture remains confrontational across the hemisphere. With Venezuela still under emergency rule, regional protests ongoing, and US warnings echoing from the Caribbean to the Andes, diplomacy and brinkmanship continue to move side by side.
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