President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro agreed to work together to thwart drug trafficking while meeting in the White House late Tuesday morning. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo
President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Tuesday agreed to cooperate on thwarting drug trafficking and discussed sanctions during a late-morning meeting.
“He and I weren’t exactly the best of friends, but I wasn’t insulted because I never met him. I didn’t know at all,” Trump afterward told The Hill.
They agreed to cooperate on counteracting illicit drug trafficking and discussed U.S. sanctions imposed on Petro and his family in October, Trump said.
He said the two “got along very well,” while Petro called the tone of their meeting “optimistic and constructive,” the BBC reported.
The Colombian president went to the Colombian Embassy after his meeting with Trump ended and said the U.S. president had given him a red Make America Great Again hat.
Trump and Petro met after exchanging threats following the U.S. military’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Jan. 3 and brought them to the United States to be tried for drug trafficking and related charges.
Trump earlier accused Petro of profiting from manufacturing cocaine and trafficking it in the United States.
He also had suggested it “would be a good idea” to target Colombian leadership, like Maduro was targeted, and Petro had responded by saying his nation’s military would protect its sovereignty.
Petro also has criticized the Trump administration’s efforts to enforce federal immigration laws and the capture of Maduro and his wife.
The two presidents eased their rhetoric after recently speaking on the phone and scheduling today’s bilateral meeting at the White House.
