On February 4th, U.S. President Trump met with visiting Colombian President Petro at the White House, which was the first foreign head of state to be received by Trump in 2026. Interestingly, the United States had previously revoked Petro's visa and placed him on a sanctions list. How did he manage to enter the U.S.? And why has Petro, a symbolic figure of the anti-American wave in Latin America, softened his stance and personally visited the U.S. to meet Trump?
Firstly, according to reports from American media, to enable this visit, the U.S. specially issued Petro a temporary short-term visa. This is an diplomatic exemption or special permit allowing him to enter temporarily despite the sanctions. Therefore, the sanctions against him still exist and have not been completely lifted.
Secondly, as a left-wing leader and anti-American pioneer in Latin America, Petro has long criticized Trump. This sudden softening of his stance is directly related to the U.S. arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro in early January. After that, Trump once threatened similar military actions against Colombia. Faced with this direct threat, Petro chose to seek reconciliation through diplomatic channels, first communicating with Trump by phone, and finally accepting the invitation to visit the White House. Therefore, this meeting was essentially a compromise made by Petro to avoid a bigger crisis and protect Colombia's sovereignty, preventing the escalation of confrontation into a military conflict.
Thirdly, at the same time, the next Colombian presidential election will be held on May 31, 2026. Under the strong promotion and support of Trump, the right turn trend in Latin America is gaining momentum. The support rate for right-wing candidates in Colombia is also continuously rising. In this context, by meeting with Trump, Petro can demonstrate his diplomatic capabilities, alleviate people's serious concerns about U.S. military intervention and economic sanctions, and win more voter support. Therefore, there is a significant electoral consideration behind this visit to the U.S.
Fourthly, according to the information currently released by the media, both sides did not publicly or directly discuss the issue of releasing Maduro. Petro probably knows the sensitivity of this matter and that it has already entered the U.S. judicial process, making it difficult to change in the short term. Therefore, during the meeting with Trump, he took an evasive approach to avoid provoking a reaction from the U.S. The content of the talks focused on drug control cooperation and border management. Petro's visit was intended to respond to Trump's core concerns and prove Colombia's efforts in the field of drug control.
Finally, it is very interesting that since January, Trump has taken an extreme confrontational stance towards Venezuela and Cuba, but why has he shown relatively mild attitude towards Colombia? In fact, Petro's leftist government is an exception in Colombia. Colombia has long been ruled by the right wing and is an important traditional ally of the United States, maintaining close relations with the U.S. in counter-terrorism, drug control, and immigration control. Therefore, Trump tends to use pressure rather than subversion to make Colombia comply, in order to maintain U.S. influence in Latin America.
Overall, Petro's visit to the U.S. certainly has his own hidden agenda, but for Trump, it is also an opportunity to set a standard and model. This is the so-called "carrot and stick" model: as long as you are willing to compromise and make concessions, Trump will always keep the door open for dialogue with you. This is essentially serving Trump's proposed Western Hemisphere Priority strategy.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856147328207875/
Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.