Trump reverses tone, invites Colombian president Gustavo Petro to White House

President Donald Trump abruptly reversed course on Wednesday regarding his relationship with Colombian President Gustavo Petro , announcing a friendly phone call and extending an invitation for Petro to visit the White House for talks.

In a post on his social media platform, Trump said “It was a great honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had,” adding that he appreciated his call and tone and looks forward to meeting him soon at the White House.

The friendly message marked a sharp departure from the fiery rhetoric Trump had used just days earlier. Over the weekend, after the United States launched a highly controversial military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, Trump turned his ire toward Petro and Colombia. He described Colombia as “ very sick too ,” accused Petro of “ making cocaine and selling it to the United States ,” and when asked about the possibility of U.S. military intervention there, he responded, “Sounds good to me.”

For months before this latest flare-up, relations between Washington and Bogotá had been deteriorating. The Trump administration had imposed sanctions on Petro and members of his government over alleged involvement in the drug trade, revoked his visa, and in September designated Colombia as a country failing to cooperate in the U.S. war on drugs, a step that cut decades-long security cooperation and assistance.

Petro, Colombia’s first modern left-wing president, had strongly condemned the U.S. military operation in Venezuela as a “ violation of Latin American sovereignty ” and escalated tensions by criticizing Washington’s broader actions in the region. Past confrontations included Petro warning that he would “take up arms again” if faced with foreign intervention and taunting Trump with a “come get me” challenge during earlier threats of force.

The sharp shift toward diplomacy came even as widespread protests erupted across Colombia against Trump’s threats and what many saw as U.S. encroachment on regional sovereignty. Demonstrators in Bogotá, Cúcuta, and other cities chanted against U.S. military intervention and demanded respect for Colombian independence.

During his remarks in Bogotá Wednesday, Petro said his call with Trump lasted more than an hour and covered both the situation in Venezuela and drug trafficking, saying he had provided data on Colombia’s counter-narcotics efforts and pressed for a reopening of direct communication between the two governments.

The sudden diplomatic gesture coming on the heels of public insults, threats, sanctions, and protests highlights how volatile the U.S.-Latin America relations have become under Trump’s foreign policy approach, and sets the stage for a potentially awkward but symbolically significant meeting at the White House in the coming weeks.