The President of the United States, Donald Trump, apologized on Thursday to his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, for what he described as “a mistake” in the invitation to the recent Summit of the Americas on Security organized by Washington last weekend.
The apology came during a phone call between the two leaders after Colombia was left out of the regional meeting convened by the White House.
The call sought to close the diplomatic impasse generated by Bogotá’s absence from the meeting — attended only by conservative Latin American presidents — and also served to review key issues on the bilateral agenda.
During the conversation, the two presidents addressed matters related to security cooperation, the fight against drug trafficking, and the regional situation, and discussed the possibility of a future in-person meeting that could take place in the Colombian city of Cartagena at Petro’s direct invitation.
Trump apologizes to Colombia’s Petro over security summit snub
The controversy began after the Shield of the Americas security summit held in Miami, convened by the Trump administration to coordinate regional actions against organized crime, drug trafficking, and irregular migration.
The meeting brought together several governments from across the hemisphere: Javier Milei (Argentina), Nayib Bukele (El Salvador), José Raúl Mulino (Panama), Daniel Noboa (Ecuador), José Antonio Kast (Chile), Luis Abinader (Dominican Republic), among others, all leading conservative governments. However, Colombia’s absence — one of the United States’ main partners on security matters — caused surprise in Bogotá.
The Colombian government considered the exclusion striking given the country’s historic role in anti-drug cooperation and in regional strategies against criminal organizations. Petro himself publicly expressed his dissatisfaction and recalled that Colombia has for decades been a central actor in hemispheric security policies.
Faced with the diplomatic unease, Trump decided to contact the Colombian president directly. According to information released by Colombia’s presidency, during the conversation the U.S. leader acknowledged that the absence of an invitation was due to a problem in the organization process of the meeting and offered Petro a personal apology.
The gesture sought to quickly close the episode and prevent the controversy from escalating in relations between the two countries. Although Bogotá ultimately did not participate in the meeting, Trump’s clarification helped ease tensions that had arisen after the event.
It is worth recalling that the main objective of the meeting was to create a coalition of countries to confront drug cartels and “terrorist networks through intelligence work and the use of lethal military force.”
A call to review the bilateral agenda
Beyond the apology, the phone conversation between the two leaders also served to review several central issues in the relationship between Colombia and the United States. During the dialogue, Petro and Trump spoke about cooperation on security matters and the need to maintain coordination between the two governments in confronting drug trafficking and other criminal networks operating across the continent.
Despite ideological differences — which strained relations between the two countries last year more than at any time in decades — Colombia remains one of Washington’s most important allies in Latin America in these areas, and both governments agreed on the importance of preserving that collaboration.
The conversation also included references to the political and security situation in the region, as well as to the broader geopolitical context of the hemisphere. In recent years, Washington has sought to strengthen its network of regional alliances in response to the growth of transnational organized crime and what it sees as a greater presence of extra-regional powers in Latin America.
Official sources indicated that the two presidents maintained a cordial tone throughout the call and agreed on the need to keep communication channels open in order to manage possible differences.
Hoy tuvimos una cordial conversación telefónica sobre varios temas concretos
Es importante la reactivación de las fronteras sin OFAC y sin mafias. pic.twitter.com/DYK0OXgx98
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) March 12, 2026
A possible visit to Cartagena
One of the points that emerged during the conversation was the possibility that Trump could visit Colombia in the future. According to information released by the Colombian government, Petro extended an invitation to the U.S. president to travel to Cartagena and hold a bilateral meeting there.
The potential visit would carry strong diplomatic symbolism. Cartagena has hosted several international summits and regional meetings in the past, and a meeting between the two presidents in that city would allow both sides to stage a relaunch of the bilateral relationship after the recent impasse.
Although no specific date was announced for the possible trip, the idea was received positively during the conversation. If it materializes, the meeting would allow progress on pending issues on the bilateral agenda and strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
The invitation is also interpreted as a political gesture by Petro to close the episode of the summit and prevent the incident from becoming a permanent source of friction between Bogotá and Washington.
The truth is that, since the meeting between the two leaders at the White House last February, relations between the two governments have improved significantly, with cooperation focused on combating drug trafficking and targeting the leaders of this multibillion-dollar illegal business.