WASHINGTON

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Tuesday that he is "determined" to bolster relations with the US as he prepared for a sit-down with President Donald Trump at the White House.

"Today I begin my agenda in Washington as Head of State, determined to continue strengthening the relationship between two nations that share a common goal: the fight against drug trafficking, from an approach that prioritizes life and peace in our territories," Petro wrote on X, minutes before heading to the White House.

The meeting comes amid shaky ties between Washington and Bogota, with Trump repeatedly accusing Petro of operating a narco state, and the Colombian leader lambasting the US president's policies in Latin America, which he says are neocolonial.

Speaking last week in Panama, Petro urged Latin American countries to unite, indirectly criticizing the US ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

“We do not want Caracas or any country in the Americas to be targeted with missiles, neither from the north nor from the south," he said without mentioning the US by name.

"Our peoples have shaped history in such a way that we should begin to see ourselves as a Latin American and Caribbean civilization -- diverse, extremely different, yet interconnected," he added in remarks to assembled regional leaders.