Trump's change of tune on Colombia after threats, invites President Gustavo Petro to White House

Over the weekend, Trump and Gustavo Petro exchanged war of words amid Trump's seizure of the leader of neighbouring Venezuela.

The ongoing tensions between US President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro took a surprising turn on Thursday. Days after both leaders traded barbs about alleged drug trafficking in Colombia, Trump has now said that he has invited Petro to the White House.

Calling the Colombian leader “a sick man,” Trump earlier warned the leader to "watch his ass" (AFP)

The Republican said he spoke to Petro on the phone and the disagreements they share also came up during the conversation. “It was a Great honour to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had," Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that he looked forward to meeting the Colombian counterpart.

Stating that the meeting will take place in White House, Trump said that arrangements are being made between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Foreign Minister of Colombia.

Over the weekend, Trump and Petro were engaged in a heated exchange as the US President trained guns at several other countries, Colombia among them, following the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Days before, Trump reportedly said, “Colombia is very sick too” and accused their president of “making cocaine and selling it to the US,” AFP reported. Calling the Colombian leader “a sick man,” Trump warned the leader to "watch his a**," the report said. On being asked whether this hinted at US operations in another neighbouring nation, Trump had replied, “Sounds good to me.”

Petro, who is a former guerrilla, has been a vocal critic of US military deployment in the Caribbean, which began with the blowing up of alleged drug boats, before expanding to the seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers.

He also said recently said that he was ready to "take up arms" in the face of threats from Trump. Taking to X Petro said that though he has sworn not to touch weapons, we would “take up arms” for the homeland.

Talking about Trump's allegations of his involvement in drug trafficking, Petro wrote that his anti-narcotics policy is sufficiently robust, but stressed there were limits to how aggressive the military can be.

Petro insisted to Trump that if he bombs the country without intelligence, many children will be killed, and thousands of peasants will turn into guerrillas in the mountains. "If you detain the president, whom a good part of my people love and respect, you will unleash the popular jaguar," he added.

Petro has spoken against Trump's operation in Venezuela, calling it an “abhorrent” violation of Latin American sovereignty.

Though Colombia has been a strong ally for the US after working with it to arrest drug traffickers and fend off rebel groups, tensions have been rising for a few months.

Earlier in October, Trump imposed sanctions on Petro, his family and a member of his government over alleged involvement in the global drug trade.