President Gustavo Petro arrived in the United States early Monday morning to begin a high-stakes four-day official visit, headlined by a pivotal face-to-face meeting with United States President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
The Colombian leader touched down in Washington at 12:30 a.m. local time, accompanied by a high-level delegation including Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio and Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The visit, scheduled from Feb. 2 to Feb. 5, marks a concerted effort to “relaunch” the bilateral relationship following a period of significant diplomatic friction.
Finalizing the bilateral strategy
On Monday afternoon, President Petro met with the Colombian Ambassador to the United States, Daniel Garcia-Peña, at the ambassadorial residence to finalize the talking points for Tuesday’s summit.
According to officials, the discussion with President Trump will center on “bilateral cooperation and the broader agenda between Colombia and the United States,” encompassing regional security, trade, and shared hemispheric interests.
#Agenda | El Presidente de la República, @PetroGustavo, desarrollará agenda de Estado en Washington D. C. entre el 2 y el 5 de febrero.
En el desarrollo de esta agenda, el jefe de Estado sostendrá el 3 de febrero una reunión institucional en la Casa Blanca con el presidente de… pic.twitter.com/jMgyNMzKAl
— Presidencia Colombia 🇨🇴 (@infopresidencia) February 2, 2026
Ambassador Garcia-Peña expressed optimism regarding the dialogue, noting the inherent complexities of such a meeting. “The wonderful thing about international relations is that there will always be talk of issues of challenge and decision,” Garcia-Peña stated following the preparatory session.
Petro’s visit to the US is described as a multifaceted diplomatic mission
Beyond the White House visit, Petro’s agenda includes institutional engagements designed to strengthen ties with academic and community sectors.
On the initial leg of his trip, the President is scheduled to deliver a conference at Georgetown University focused on “the challenges of climate change on the continent.”
The visit also prioritizes the growing Colombian diaspora in the U.S. Foreign Minister Villavicencio described the mood of the delegation as “very positive,” emphasizing a shared ambition to move toward a more constructive partnership. “We are embracing the positivity of a relationship that is going to be relaunched,” Villavicencio said.
Key discussion points
The Tuesday meeting at the White House is expected to address several “points of challenge” that have defined the relationship over the past year, such as bilateral cooperation, environmental policy, and hemispheric interests, as well as drug statistics and data in Colombia.
The visit concludes on Feb. 5, following a series of meetings with multilateral organizations and civil society leaders intended to solidify Colombia’s standing with its primary international partner.