Colombian President Gustavo Petro met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday following repeated warnings from Trump over cocaine trafficking from Colombia into the United States.
According to the White House foreign press pool, Petro arrived at the White House at 10:53 a.m., and reporters confirmed about an hour later that the meeting was ongoing. The visit marked the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders.
The U.S. delegation included Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Sen. Bernie Moreno, who was born in Colombia.
The Colombian delegation was led by Petro and included Foreign Minister Yolanda Villavicencio, Defense Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sánchez Suárez, and Ambassador to the United States Daniel García-Peña Jaramillo.
The meeting followed months of public criticism from Trump over Colombia’s role in cocaine production and trafficking. His warnings intensified after the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Operation Absolute Resolve on January 3.
In December, Trump accused Petro of allowing cocaine production to flourish in Colombia.
“They make cocaine in Colombia, and he’s no friend of the United States,” Trump said at the time. “They’re sending it into the United States.”
Trump repeated those remarks following Maduro’s capture, again warning Petro about drug trafficking.
After another public warning on January 4, Trump spoke with Petro by phone on January 7 and extended an invitation to meet at the White House. Following the call, both leaders adopted a more conciliatory tone.
“It was a great honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro,” Trump said after the call. “I appreciated his tone and look forward to meeting him.”
After the conversation, Petro canceled a planned speech at an anti-Trump rally in Colombia, saying his original remarks had been overly harsh.
“Trump is not dumb,” Petro later said. “We can say other things, but he is not dumb.”
In recent days, Petro also drew attention for unusual public remarks, including comments about his personal life and joking about offering Trump wine or whiskey during their meeting, despite Trump’s well-known abstinence from alcohol.
The White House meeting is seen as part of broader U.S. efforts to pressure Colombia to intensify its fight against drug trafficking and strengthen cooperation on security issues.
Officials have not yet released detailed information about any agreements or commitments made during the talks.
