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Trump and Petro Meet at the White House in Pragmatic Thaw Focused on Drug Cooperation

The private Oval Office session signaled a cautious thaw centered on counternarcotics after months of sanctions.

Overview

  • The closed-door Oval Office meeting lasted about two hours with no formal readout, and both leaders characterized it as positive, with Trump calling it "very good."
  • Colombia resumed accepting U.S. deportation flights last week and on Tuesday restarted extraditions by sending a wanted drug suspect to the United States.
  • Treasury sanctions and U.S. visa restrictions on Gustavo Petro were temporarily waived to allow his travel to Washington after a year of punitive measures.
  • U.S. officials said discussions focused on regional security and drug interdiction, and Petro later said Trump offered to mediate a trade dispute with Ecuador.
  • The rapprochement remains fragile as disputes over U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats and the operation that captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro continue to raise sovereignty concerns.