BOGOTA: President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro held a phone call on Wednesday afternoon where they discussed relations between the two countries, both men said, amid heightened tensions between Washington and Bogota. This is the first phone call between the two presidents since Trump said Sunday that a US military operation focused on Colombia’s govt “sounds good” to him. “It was a great honour to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had. I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in future,” Trump wrote on social media. Trump added “arrangements are being made” for a meeting in Washington between himself and Petro, though he did not indicate when the meeting may take place. “We have spoken by phone for the first time since he became president,” Petro told supporters gathered at a rally meant to celebrate Colombia’s sovereignty, adding he had requested a restart of dialogue between the two countries. A source in Petro’s office said the call was “cordial” and “respectful.” Relations between Trump and Petro have been frosty since the Republican returned to the White House. Trump has repeatedly accused the administration of Petro of enabling a steady flow of cocaine into the US, and on Sunday referred to Petro as “a sick man.” In Oct, the US govt imposed sanctions on Petro, accusing him of allowing the expansion of the illicit drug trade in the Andean nation. Colombia and Petro have repeatedly rejected Trump’s accusations. Petro has vocally denounced the Trump administration’s strikes across the Pacific and Caribbean. Reuters
