In Washington, Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Trump suddenly got along brilliantly. But in fact everything remains the same.
D is Visit of Colombian President Gustavo Petro to Washington was awaited with excitement, but above all with concern, in Colombia. What remains after the first personal meeting with Donald Trump? An unstable peace.
It was not an official visit – the feared public humiliation à la Volodymyr Zelensky did not occur. Petro came through a side entrance, there was no joint press conference, instead there was a confidentiality agreement. Petro left the White House with a commemorative handshake photo signed by Trump and a dedication: “Gustavo. A great honor. I love Colombia.” Trump said very little afterwards. Petro gave an interview that lasted almost an hour.
There was only one contradiction on his part, said Petro: When Trump gave him a MAGA cap, he added an S to “Make America Great Again” with a felt-tip pen: Americas, i.e. the entire continent. They talked about freedom, said Petro, about the fight against drugs and even about his heartfelt issue of “clean energy” from Colombia’s border region, possibly about a deal with the Colombian gas and oil company Ecopetrol, with which western Venezuela would be built up.
Petro claims to have given Trump the names of three drug lords who are based in Dubai, Miami and Madrid – and whom the USA should please prosecute. Petro’s videos and numbers are said to have convinced Trump that Colombia is serious about the fight against coca plants. For months, Trump had insulted Petro, among other things, as a drug lord. And now there should be harmony? Caution is advised.
In fact, everything stays the same for now. Petro remains on the US sanctions list and will not even be able to open a bank account in Colombia after the end of his presidency and will no longer have a US visa. As much as both emphasize that personal conversation is the only true thing, both demonstrate every day how little their words are worth. So peace is deceptive. And if unity remains, the question is: at what cost? What was negotiated in trust?
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