Who could have imagined that Colombia's president, who has always been firm with the United States, has rarely softened his stance. Compared to Maduro being arrested at home, he has proactively gone to check the situation.

Colombian President Petro

Recently, Colombian President Petro announced that he will visit the White House on February 3rd to meet with Trump, discussing the tense diplomatic relations between the US and Colombia, as well as the recent U.S. military actions in Latin America. This statement caused a global uproar. As Trump's "arch-rival," Petro's decision is a "turning point" drama.

To understand this "turnaround," we first need to clarify how deep the "grudge" between the US and Colombia has been over the past year. As Colombia's first left-wing president, Petro has vowed to break Colombia's "subordinate relationship" with the US, proposing a "strategic autonomy" foreign policy, which directly confronted Trump's administration's "New Monroe Doctrine."

The conflict escalated fully in 2025, with the core focus on drug control and immigration issues, with wave after wave of verbal battles. Trump criticized Petro on social media for "tolerating large-scale drug production," calling him a "drug boss," and announced cutting all aid to Colombia, even threatening to impose "significant tariffs." Petro also did not back down, countering Trump as "rude and ignorant."

Colombian people support Petro's hard stand against Trump

Additionally, the Darien Gap in Colombia is the essential route for South American migrants heading north. The US asked Colombia to strictly control migration flows and cooperate with the US's deportation policies, but Petro believed that immigrants should not be treated as criminals and once refused to allow US military aircraft carrying migrants to land.

Four months ago, Petro participated in a demonstration supporting Palestine outside the UN headquarters, and the US Department of State revoked his visa to the US, citing "encouraging US soldiers to disobey orders and inciting violence." This Colombian leader directly named Trump on the UN podium and even called for criminal charges against him.

Petro and Maduro

Even after the US military raided Venezuela and kidnapped Maduro, Petro did not back down. As a country bordering Venezuela, Colombia declared a state of emergency and deployed 30,000 soldiers along the border with Venezuela. But less than two weeks later, Petro's attitude changed significantly.

Petro's change in attitude cannot be explained by a single factor alone; it is the result of multiple factors intersecting. On one hand, the depth of Colombia's reliance on the US in economic and security areas determines the basic framework of "fighting without breaking." On the other hand, Colombia will hold presidential elections in May 2026, and Petro needs to consider the domestic political situation.

Colombia sends its own plane to repatriate migrants

Certainly, Petro's shift is also inseparable from the subtle changes in the geopolitics of Latin America. After Maduro was arrested, the Trump administration clearly increased pressure on leftist countries in Latin America, openly threatening Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, and others, trying to consolidate its "backyard hegemony" through "scare tactics." In this context, if Petro continues to resist, he might find himself isolated and helpless.

From the information both sides have released, the core issue of this meeting is drug control cooperation, which means Petro may make some concessions in drug control strategies. However, whether Colombia can maintain its position on other issues will determine the direction of US-Colombian relations, and may also affect the Trump administration's foreign policy toward the entire region of Latin America.

For Petro, this meeting is a high-risk gamble: if he can gain concessions from the US through compromise, stabilizing the economic and security situation, his ruling position will be consolidated; if the US continues to push further, he may fall into a dilemma of "not pleasing either side."

Original: toutiao.com/article/7595498551234183680/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.