"Colombian President Gustavo Petro met US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday with tensions between the two leaders taking center stage after the US operation that captured Venezuela's president last month. Petro and Trump have had a contentious relationship, with the Colombian president criticizing US moves in the Caribbean, and Trump threatening Colombia over cocaine shipments into the US. Trump administration officials said the two planned to discuss counternarcotics efforts and security cooperation. On Tuesday, Colombia extradited a drug lord to the US, resuming extraditions that had been stalled for months as the government attempts negotiations with armed groups that run the drug trade. On Friday last week, Colombia also agreed to accept US deportation flights."
"Trump has called Petro a 'sick man' who 'pumps drugs' into the US Image: Luis Acosta/Jim Watson/AFP Trump on Monday downplayed his tensions with Petro, signalling the Colombian president is more willing to work with Washington to stop the flow of drugs. "Somehow after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice," Trump told reporters. "He changed his attitude very much ... We're gonna have a good meeting," Trump said ahead of the visit."
"Both Trump and Petro are known for their unpredictability and making bombastic statements. Trump invited Petro to Washington last month in the wake of the US operation that ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, which the Colombian leader heavily criticized. Trump at the time called Petro a "sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States." When asked in January by a reporter whether the US would carry out a similar operation on Colombia, Trump said, "It sounds good to me." However, Petro agreed to visit the US after a phone call with Trump that both leaders described positively."
Gustavo Petro met Donald Trump at the White House amid heightened tensions following a US operation that captured Venezuela's president. Petro has criticized US actions in the Caribbean while Trump has threatened Colombia over cocaine shipments into the United States. Officials said discussions would focus on counternarcotics efforts and security cooperation. Colombia resumed extraditions by sending a drug lord to the US and agreed to accept US deportation flights. Trump publicly criticized Petro but later downplayed the rift, saying Petro had softened his stance after the Venezuelan raid and expressing optimism about their meeting.
Read at www.dw.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]