President Petro revealed the details of his first direct conversation with the US president, Donald Trump. The dialogue, which lasted 45 minutes, took place in a scenario of high tension after the capture of Nicolás Maduro and sought to stop the escalation of the diplomatic crisis between Colombia and the United States.
The key player in concluding this dialogue was the Republican senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul. Colombia’s ambassador to the United States, Daniel García-Peña, explained that he has cultivated a close relationship with Paul, motivated especially by the senator’s concern about the situation in Venezuela.
Although Paul admitted to the ambassador that his relationship with Trump may be tense, it was he who directly suggested to the American president to speak with Petro.
Dialogue on drug trafficking and security
The call, which was made from Bogotá to the White House on Wednesday morning, January 7, lasted almost an hour.
The ambassador described the meeting as “excellent” and highlighted that the tone was extremely constructive, leaving aside the personal insults that both leaders had exchanged in the past.
The central topic of the conversation was the fight against drug trafficking and transnational crime. García-Peña stressed that, although there are deep ideological differences, both leaders agreed that drug trafficking is a common threat for both societies.
Petro defended his management with figures
From the Plaza de Bolívar, Petro confirmed that the contact initiative sought to avoid a major conflict in the region.
“In the conversation I touched on two topics and one request: communications between foreign ministries and presidents be reestablished. If there is no dialogue, there is war; the history of Colombia has taught us this. We spoke and I reestablished communication for the first time”assured the president.
According to President Petro’s account, the talk head-on addressed the two points that have generated friction with the Trump administration. The first, the political situation in Venezuela after Maduro’s arrest, and the second, the policy of fighting drugs, a point where the Colombian president presented a technical defense of his management.
The president explained that the call also discussed military and judicial operations. “I told him that operations had been coordinated with Maduro, I told him about the bombings, which were unfortunate, because they were against commanders who were not there. I told him how drug seizures had increased to 1,000 tons last year. I told him that 700 traffickers were extradited with my signature, including Piedad Córdoba’s brother.”he added.
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Invitation to the White House: the diplomatic thaw
The biggest surprise of the call was Donald Trump’s direct invitation for Gustavo Petro to visit the White House.
The response from Washington did not take long to arrive. Donald Trump described the call as a “great honor” and highlighted the tone of the Colombian president.
“It was a great honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called me to explain the drug situation and other disagreements we have had. I appreciate his call and his tone, and I look forward to meeting him soon. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia are making the necessary arrangements. The meeting will take place at the White House in Washington, DC”were his words.
After this diplomatic thaw, both leaders confirmed that the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the Colombian Foreign Minister are already coordinating the details of a bilateral meeting at the White House.
The communication responded to the need to avoid a broader conflict and to keep institutional channels open between both governments, at a critical moment for bilateral relations between Colombia and the United States.
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