Donald Trump has been making massive headlines from the past week. U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly changed his tone on Wednesday (January 7, 2026) about his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, saying they had exchanged a friendly phone call and he’d even invited the leader of the South American country to the White House.
“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,” Mr. Trump posted on his social media site. “I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future.”
He wrote that the upcoming meeting would take place at the White House.
That came mere days after Mr. Trump said in the wake of the U.S. operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend that “Colombia is very sick too” and accused Mr. Petro of ”making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”
In comments to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday (January 4, 2026), Mr. Trump added of Mr. Petro, “He’s not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you.” Asked whether U.S. intervention was possible, Mr. Trump responded, ”Sounds good to me.”
Later on Wednesday (January 7, 2026), addressing thousands of protesters that he had mobilized to rally against U.S. military threats, Mr. Petro said he had spoken with Mr. Trump for roughly one hour
Petro Pushed back against Trump’s charges of drug-trafficking
The Trump administration has carried out almost 30 strikes since September against suspected drug-smuggling charges in the Caribbean and Pacific. This operation has killed 110 people.
Petro pushed back against Trump’s charges saying Columbia would resist any attack, ‘For the homeland I will take up arms again that I do not want’ Petro wrote on X, denying all the charges made by Trump.
Tensions between US and Columbia have been on rise
Before Trump’s conciliatory post, tensions had been rising between the U.S. and Colombia for months.
The Trump administration imposed sanctions in October on Petro, his family and a member of his government over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade. Colombia is considered the epicenter of the world’s cocaine trade.
Trump began his monthslong pressure campaign on Maduro by ordering dozens of lethal strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats launched from Venezuela in the Caribbean. He eventually expanded the operations to also target suspected vessels in the eastern Pacific that came from Colombia.
The U.S. in September added Colombia, the top recipient of American assistance in the region, to a list of nations failing to cooperate in the drug war for the first time in almost 30 years. The designation led to a slashing of U.S. assistance to the country.
“He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories,” Trump said of Preto on Sunday. “He’s not going to be doing it.”
‘Columbia is run by a sick man’, Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened military action against Colombia’s government, telling reporters that such an operation “sounds good to me.”
“Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man, who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, in an apparent reference to Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro.
Asked directly whether the US would pursue a military operation against the country, Trump answered, “It sounds good to me.
“The comments came after the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an audacious raid and whisked him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.
