In a gesture that drew the attention of analysts and diplomats alike, Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, extended a formal invitation to U.S. president Donald Trump to visit Colombia. The offer comes amid growing tension between the two leaders, after Trump made some undiplomatic statements in which he hinted at possible actions against cocaine-producing countries if they do not “realize” what is happening with drug trafficking to his country.
In response to those remarks, Petro invited Trump to see firsthand the counternarcotics efforts underway in Colombia, highlighting his government’s work to dismantle cocaine-processing labs and combat criminal organizations.
Petro’s invitation was a calculated response to what he considered a mistaken and unfair view by the U.S. president regarding Colombia’s reality. In his remarks before the ministerial cabinet, the Colombian leader emphasized that he is “a very misinformed man” regarding the work his government has undertaken against drug trafficking, pointing to concrete figures of labs destroyed and large quantities of cocaine seized.
At the same time, Petro suggested that a visit by Trump could allow him to see with his own eyes how the drug war operates in Colombia, instead of basing his opinion on media perceptions or on external reports that, according to the Colombian leader, do not accurately reflect the local situation. Although the White House has said it has no official record of such an invitation, the U.S. government’s spokesperson said today that they will consider it.
Petro invites Trump to Colombia to learn firsthand about the government’s anti-drug policy
Petro’s invitation came at a delicate moment for Colombian foreign policy. Trump, from the White House, has emphasized his hardline stance against drug trafficking, but he has also included countries such as Colombia in a broader discourse that has generated concern in Bogota.
The U.S. president’s rhetoric, which has linked cocaine production directly to the possibility of interventions, was perceived by many in Colombia as a way to pressure Petro’s government. That context helps explain why Petro’s invitation was not limited to a simple diplomatic courtesy, but instead became a political statement with deeper implications.
Petro, who has been critical of several of Trump’s policies and has defended a sovereign and autonomous vision in matters of security and drug trafficking, also used the invitation as a platform to underscore the differences between his approach and that of the current U.S. president.
The Colombian leader has repeatedly highlighted the resources Colombia has allocated to fighting criminal organizations and dismantling their structures, in contrast with Trump’s descriptions, which tend to emphasize the failures and risks of producer countries. According to Petro, a visit by Trump would help dispel myths and offer a more balanced narrative about Colombia’s efforts in this area.
The numbers of Colombia’s Petro
After the invitation to Trump, in a firm defense of his government’s anti-drug policy, Gustavo Petro presented figures on the destruction of cocaine laboratories in Colombia that the U.S. president — he said — will be able to see firsthand. In this regard, and according to figures from the Ministry of Defense, “it’s 17 a day, every 40 minutes one is destroyed. Every 40 minutes, we destroy what he calls a cocaine factory, which he thinks is a building, when in fact it’s sticks and some poles.”
The Colombian president added that if you fire a missile at those structures, “you’re throwing U.S. money away, because we have destroyed 18,000 with ground operations. It’s relatively easy — they’re poles and fabric — but what’s valuable there are the supplies, and it’s an operation we have also increased very effectively. So Trump is invited to Colombia to see this up close and in reality.”
With all this, Petro maintained that Trump “is very misinformed” by those around him and insisted that “it seems his interlocutors are completely misleading him.” In his defense, he recalled that there have been 1,496 combat operations “on the ground against the mafias, carried out by our military forces during my government,” as well as 13 bombings aimed at “trying to locate their leaders, many with shared military intelligence, many of these clashes.”
He also stated that in his government of a little more than three years, more than 2,700 tons of cocaine have been seized and that “the year 2025 will end and we still have months left in 2026, so we are going to approach 4,000 tons, the largest seizure in the history of the world; there is no previous record like that.”
According to the Colombian president, this volume is equivalent to more than 32 billion doses, “four times the world population,” which “did not reach the United States and consumer countries. Come on, it’s as if we hadn’t done anything.”
The White House says it will consider it, though it shows its displeasure with Petro
When questioned by Colombian reporters, Trump administration spokesperson Karoline Leavitt was cautious and rather distant. First, the official said she was not aware of Petro’s formal invitation and would leave it to President Trump himself to evaluate the proposal.
Nevertheless, Leavitt described the invitation as “very interesting,” but acknowledged that so far she had not received concrete reports about it. This response, while not closing the door to the visit, places Petro’s initiative in a space of waiting and analysis by the U.S. administration and does not offer much room for real progress.
The spokesperson also mentioned that the U.S. president has expressed annoyance over several statements made by Petro, arguing that the Colombian criticisms have been “alarming and insulting” toward the United States. Leavitt’s statement suggests a need for the White House to carefully assess any diplomatic step in a context where bilateral relations have been affected not only by disagreements over drug trafficking but also by other geopolitical and regional security issues.
Gustavo Petro has always said that Donald Trump’s inner circle misinforms the U.S. president about Colombia, which is why an invitation to visit the country would allow him to learn firsthand about his government’s anti-drug policy.