President Donald Trump announced Wednesday night that he had a productive conversation with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, with whom he has had an intense, often hostile relationship since returning to office last January.
“It was a Great Honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post. “I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future.”
Trump added that Colombia’s foreign minister had agreed to a White House meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
🚨 TRUMP: It was a Great Honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had. I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future. Arrangements are… pic.twitter.com/700hQKS8Bg
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 7, 2026
The announcement marks a significant shift in the relationship between President Trump and one of South America’s last remaining leftist leaders, as the two have been overwhelmingly hostile towards each other since Trump returned to the White House last January.
Just day into Trump’s second term, Petro refused to allow a deportation flight to land in Colombian territory, which prompted the U.S. to immediately slap the nation with significant economic penalties. Petro backed down almost immediately, though hostility persisted in the following months.
Following a lengthy tirade at the UN General Assembly — during which Petro referred to the United States as a colonial power and compared President Trump to Adolph Hitler — the U.S. government moved to revoke his visa. All U.S. subsidies pertaining to Colombia were also cancelled.
Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president and a former guerrilla fighter with the M-19 group, has often criticized U.S. interventionism, while Trump has sharply criticized the Colombian president for failing to halt the flow of illegal narcotics from rural regions. The U.S. has launched multiple sea and land strikes against the National Liberation Army (ELN), one of the nation’s largest left-wing guerrilla groups, in recent weeks.
The ELN controls significant territory along Colombia’s border with Venezuela and has long been heavily involved in drug-trafficking. The group was also firmly aligned with Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro prior to his capture last week.
While Petro had been a staunch critic of U.S, intervention in the region, he did moderate his support for Maduro’s regime in the days leading up to his capture. He claimed that during his final conversation with the deposed dictator, the two discussed coordination against the ELN and halting the flow of drugs.
The sharp turnaround comes just days after Petro dared U.S. forces to enter Colombian territory and capture him following the Maduro raid. He further claimed that Colombia’s various guerrilla groups will “rise up” to oppose any U.S. intervention.
Trump responded with a clear, blunt warning in which he hinted at expanded military operations against Colombian drug-trafficking organizations.
