Colombian President Gustavo Petro emerged from approximately two hours of closed-door White House talks with US President Donald Trump on February 3, focused on counter-narcotics cooperation and regional security, paving the way for a thaw after months of diplomatic tensions.

Petro entered the White House through a side entrance rather than the traditional North Portico shortly before 11:00 local time, accompanied by Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio and Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez. Neither leader addressed the media following the meeting, though Trump gifted Petro a signed photograph inscribed "A great honor — I love Colombia," the Colombian presidency posted on X.

"Somehow after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice," Trump told reporters on February 2. "He changed his attitude very much."

The meeting, the first between the two leaders, aimed to reset bilateral relations strained by Trump's September 2025 visa revocation and October sanctions targeting Petro, his wife Verónica Alcocer, son Nicolás Petro and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti over drug trafficking allegations rejected by Colombian officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio granted Petro a temporary entry authorisation, enabling the Washington visit despite the visa ban.

Relations soured through 2025 as Petro criticised the US' "genocide-enabling" policy on Gaza and over lethal strikes on alleged drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean, which killed at least 126 people across 36 operations. In turn, Trump labelled the Colombian president a "drug dealer" and threatened military intervention. Tensions peaked following the January 3 US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Petro, who advocated for a diplomatic solution in Venezuela, denounced the move as a "kidnapping" and warned he would "take up arms" if Washington invaded Colombia.

Colombia produced an estimated 3,001 tonnes of cocaine in 2024 from approximately 261,000 hectares under cultivation, representing the world's largest output and accounting for roughly 70% of global supply, according to UN Office on Drugs and Crime data. Petro disputes the UN methodology, instead citing Colombian National Police monitoring showing 262,179 hectares as of August whilst claiming 25,000 hectares removed through voluntary substitution programmes, though US officials question these figures.

In a bid to appease Washington ahead of Petro's visit, Bogotà extradited one high-level trafficker identified as "Pipe Tulua" to the US on February 3, with Defence Minister Sánchez describing the action as demonstrating "bilateral cooperation delivers concrete and measurable results against transnational crime," according to his social media statement. Colombia has processed 521 extraditions to the US from approximately 800 approved requests under Petro's administration.

In September, Trump's administration designated Colombia as "failing to cooperate adequately in counter-narcotics efforts", the first such determination in three decades despite the country maintaining a major non-NATO ally status and receiving approximately $450mn annually in US security assistance. The designation preceded sanctions slapped by the US Treasury Department in October, citing insufficient action against cocaine production despite the "Plan Colombia" cooperation frameworks established in 2000.

During the meeting, Petro proposed that Colombian and Venezuelan armed forces coordinate operations targeting drug trafficking leadership, whilst suggesting Trump mediate border security disputes with Ecuador, according to remarks to Caracol Radio. The Colombian president's social media posts prior to the meeting showed him with family members, describing himself as having "truly suffered" narcotics trafficking effects directly as a result of his prosecution of drug cartels.

Approximately 30,000 Colombian troops were deployed along the 2,219-kilometre Venezuela frontier following Maduro's ouster, according to government statements, as Bogotá confronts security challenges from the National Liberation Army guerrillas and Clan del Golfo criminal organisations operating across border zones.

At home, Petro’s leftist coalition faces a combative conservative opposition pushing for closer US ties, with congressional elections coming up in March and a high-stakes presidential vote scheduled for May.