Colombian President Gustavo Petro revealed in an exclusive interview with Spanish outlet El Pais that United States President Donald Trump explicitly admitted to planning a military operation against Colombia before their diplomatic breakthrough this week.
Speaking from the Casa de Nariño, Petro stated that during their Wednesday phone call, the U.S. president told him he had been “thinking about doing bad things in Colombia” and that a military plan was already in motion.
The revelation follows a week of intense fear within the Colombian presidency, during which Petro admitted he felt a genuine risk of being “extracted” by U.S. forces like the recent capture of Nicolas Maduro in Caracas.
Petro noted that the Colombian government lacks sophisticated anti-aircraft defenses, to counter a high-altitude or aerial assault, leading him to rely on “popular resistance” and national mobilizations as a deterrent.
Petro says the recent phone call froze threats of a US military operation in Colombia
According to President Petro, the recent hour-long phone conversation successfully “froze” the immediate threat of a U.S. military operation against Colombia, though he cautioned that the situation remains fragile.
Petro described the exchange as an opportunity to counter “lies” fed to the Trump administration by the Colombian right-wing opposition. He argued that Trump’s previous characterizations of him as a “sick man” and a leader of “cocaine factories” were the result of misinformation filtered through radical Republican circles in Florida.
🔴 EXCLUSIVA | Gustavo Petro, presidente de Colombia: “[Delcy Rodríguez] está presionada desde afuera y desde adentro. Su tarea central debería ser unir al pueblo de Venezuela”
🖋️ @jdquesada | @MariaMartinD https://t.co/72FCSpqKEk pic.twitter.com/ShaoXawWTN
— EL PAÍS América Colombia (@ElPaisAmericaCo) January 9, 2026
Despite their stark ideological differences, Petro found common ground with Trump on the issue of narcotics, noting that the U.S. president focused almost exclusively on drug trafficking during his portion of the call rather than global or regional geopolitics.
President Petro is set to visit the White House later this year
The diplomatic “breakthrough” has already set a formal state visit in motion. Preparations for Petro’s visit to the White House are currently underway, with Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio coordinating the schedule.
Petro indicated that he does not intend to temper his rhetoric during the upcoming visit, asserting that he will continue to speak his mind on sensitive topics ranging from renewable energy to his critique of U.S. immigration agencies.
Regarding the situation in Venezuela, Petro confirmed he has maintained contact with interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, whom he recently invited to Bogota.
While Trump has publicly claimed to be “in charge” of Venezuela, Petro insisted that any transition to free elections must arise from internal Venezuelan dialogue rather than external imposition.
He expressed concern that a lack of communication between Washington and Latin American leaders could lead to a broader regional conflict, particularly as the U.S. views the region through the lens of its commercial and energy competition with China.
The path to this dialogue was paved by a quiet, months-long effort involving Colombian business leaders and an unlikely intermediary: Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul.
Colombian Ambassador Daniel García-Peña confirmed that Paul was instrumental in arranging the contact, driven by a desire to prevent the United States from being dragged into a deeper military conflict in South America. Petro noted that while the “jaguar” of Latin American anti-imperialism remains awake, the immediate goal is to replace military tension with a pragmatic, bilateral agenda centered on energy and security.