Trump to host Colombian president for talks in first week of February

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Friday that he would be hosting Colombian President Gustavo Petro for talks at the White House during the first week of February.

"I am sure it will work out very well for Colombia, and the U.S.A., but, cocaine and other drugs must be stopped from coming into the United States," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

The upbeat comments were the latest from Trump after months of castigating Petro and his government, accusing the Colombian president of running "cocaine factories," which he has sometimes dubbed "mills."

Trump announced after speaking with Petro on the phone Wednesday that the leaders would meet at the White House, though he had not specified when the meeting would take place.

Petro said in remarks published Friday that Trump had been preparing a military operation in Colombia.

“Trump told me in a phone call that he was thinking of doing bad things in Colombia. The message was that they were already preparing, planning a military operation,” Petro said during an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais.

However, the left-wing Colombian leader said he believes the threat was “frozen” after Wednesday’s phone call, while also acknowledging, “I could be mistaken.”

“Any president, anywhere in the world, can be removed if he or she does not align with certain interests,” he said, adding that he feared suffering the same fate as Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by US forces in Caracas last weekend.

Petro explained that Colombia lacks air defense capabilities, but has called for popular resistance in the event of such an operation in his country.