Colombia's Petro, Trump hail talks after bitter rift

Colombian President Gustavo Petro and US President Donald Trump appeared to bury the hatchet on Tuesday, after a year of sparring that culminated in threats by Trump to topple the left-wing leader like in Venezuela. "My impression of the meeting a few hours ago is first and foremost that it was positive," Petro told reporters after meeting Trump at the White House behind closed doors. Trump said he "got along very well" with the leader whom he recently accused after the fall of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro.

"He and I weren't exactly the best of friends, but I wasn't insulted because I never met him. I didn't know him at all, and we got along very well," said Trump at the White House, hours after talks ended.

Trump said the two countries were "working on" anti-drug trafficking cooperation, and also on lifting US sanctions the Republican had placed on the South American country. Fears in Bogota that Petro could be subjected to one of Trump's famously fiery televised Oval Office confrontations were dispelled when reporters were kept out.

Instead it was Petro and his office who posted a series of pictures of the meeting. "You are great," Trump wrote to Petro as he signed a copy of his 1987 book "Art of the Deal," according to the photos.

Despite being worlds apart politically, the Colombian returned praise for the 79-year-old US leader. "The truth is I like straightforward Americans, people who say what they feel. We're different, undoubtedly, by a lot. But frankness comes first," he said.

The two leaders reclined in gold chairs in the Oval Office as they talked, accompanied by US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior Colombian officials, according to photos released by Petro's office. They also shared a warm handshake in the West Wing colonnade, next to portraits of former US presidents that Trump recently installed along with unflattering biographies of some of his recent predecessors.

Petro also said after the meeting that Trump had agreed to mediate Colombia's trade war with Ecuador. The South American neighbours have imposed import tariffs of 30 per cent on one another in a dispute over how to tackle drug trafficking — also a major political issue for Trump.

It was a far cry from the previous harsh rhetoric between a pair who come from absolute opposite ends of the political spectrum. The Colombian had repeatedly defended Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro, a fellow left-winger, before his capture by US forces on January 3. He also criticized deadly US air strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats.

Trump meanwhile has been pressing Colombia to crack down on drug trafficking, threatening military strikes on its territory as he had against both Venezuela and Mexico. After the Maduro raid an emboldened Trump stepped up his barbs, saying a Venezuela-style action against Petro "sounds good to me." But things turned a corner after an unexpectedly warm phone call on January 7. "I mean, he's been very nice over the last month or two," Trump said on Monday on the eve of the visit. "He was certainly critical before that, but somehow, after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice."

Petro said on X shortly before the meeting that during the talks he was "determined to continue strengthening the relationship between two nations that share a common goal: the fight against drug trafficking."

In an apparent reference to the strikes on drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that have killed more than 100 people, he added that he wanted to do so "from an approach that prioritizes life and peace in our territories." In an olive branch to Trump hours before their talks, Petro extradited an accused drug lord to the United States after a months-long suspension on such transfers. Colombia also abruptly agreed on Friday to accept US deportation flights — reversing the very decision that triggered the falling-out between Trump and Petro last year.