President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, confirmed this Wednesday that his long-awaited meeting with US President Donald Trump will take place on February 3rd at the White House, following a recent phone call that helped ease tensions between Washington and Bogotá. During an address to the Council of Ministers, Petro explained that the meeting was finalized after an intense bilateral debate on drug trafficking, an issue that has intensified differences between the two governments. He also plans to dialogue with authorities from the Department of Defense and other officials from the Trump administration. The Trump-Petro meeting takes place against a backdrop of accumulated diplomatic tensions between Colombia and the United States in recent months. As part of the preparations for the meeting, Colombia's Minister of Defense, Pedro Sánchez Suárez, held meetings in Washington with high-ranking US officials to address the joint fight against drug trafficking, which he described as a 'common enemy' of both countries. As part of his agenda in the US capital, the minister has met with members of the US Congress, including Republican Senator Bill Hagerty and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers. The president described the meeting as 'determinant' and said he will present Trump with data on his government's fight against narcotics so that he can 'really know what has happened' in that battle.
