By AAMER MADHANI, Related Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is ready to welcome Colombian President Gustavo Petro to the White Home on Tuesday for talks solely weeks after threatening navy motion in opposition to the South American nation and accusing the chief of pumping cocaine into the US.
U.S. administration officers say the assembly will concentrate on regional safety cooperation and counternarcotics efforts. And Trump on Monday steered that Petro — who has continued to criticize Trump and the U.S. operation to seize Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro — appears extra prepared to work together with his administration to stem the circulation of unlawful medication from Colombia.
“Someway after the Venezuelan raid, he grew to become very good,” Trump instructed reporters. “He modified his angle very a lot.”
But, dangerous blood between the leaders overshadows the sit-down, at the same time as Trump sought to downplay any friction on the eve of the go to.
The conservative Trump and leftist Petro are ideologically far aside, however each leaders share a bent for verbal bombast and unpredictability. That units the stage for a White Home go to with an anything-could-happen vibe.
In latest days, Petro has continued poking on the U.S. president, calling Trump an “confederate to genocide” within the Gaza Strip, whereas asserting that the seize of Maduro was a kidnapping.
And forward of his departure for Washington, Petro known as on Colombians to take to the streets of Bogotá in the course of the White Home assembly. He deliberate to carry a information convention on the Colombian Embassy in Washington after the assembly with Trump.
Traditionally, Colombia has been a U.S. ally. For the previous 30 years, the U.S. has labored intently with Colombia, the world’s largest producer of cocaine, to arrest drug traffickers, fend off insurgent teams and increase financial growth in rural areas.
However relations between the leaders have been strained by Trump’s massing U.S. forces within the area for unprecedented lethal navy strikes focusing on suspected drug-smuggling boats within the Caribbean Sea and the japanese Pacific. Not less than 126 folks have been killed in 36 recognized strikes.
In October, Trump’s Republican administration introduced it was imposing sanctions on Petro, his household and a member of his authorities over accusations of involvement within the international drug commerce.
The Treasury Division leveled the penalties in opposition to Petro; his spouse, Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia; his son, Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos; and Colombian Inside Minister Armando Alberto Benedetti.
The sanctions, which needed to be waived to permit Petro to journey to Washington this week, got here after the U.S. administration in September introduced it was including Colombia to a listing of countries failing to cooperate within the drug struggle for the primary time in three a long time.
Then got here the audacious navy operation final month to seize Maduro and his spouse to face federal drug conspiracy fees, a transfer that Petro has forcefully denounced. Following Maduro’s ouster, Trump put Colombia on discover and ominously warned Petro he may very well be subsequent.
Colombia is “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and promoting it to the US,” Trump mentioned of Petro final month. “And he’s not gonna be doing it very lengthy, let me let you know.”
However a couple of days later, tensions eased considerably after a name between the leaders. Trump mentioned Petro of their hourlong dialog defined “the drug state of affairs and different disagreements.” And Trump prolonged an invite to Petro for the White Home go to.
Trump on a few events has used the usually scripted leaders’ conferences to ship stern rebukes to counterparts in entrance of the press.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February for exhibiting inadequate gratitude for U.S. assist of Ukraine. Trump additionally used a White Home assembly in Could to forcefully confront South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing the nation, with reporters current, of failing to deal with Trump’s baseless declare of the systematic killing of white farmers.
It was unclear if the assembly between Trump and Petro would come with a portion in entrance of cameras.
