Beyond the restoration of political rapport between Colombia and the United States, Gustavo Petro’s visit to the White House yesterday left a deal proposal from the Colombian president to Donald Trump that seeks to redefine Latin America’s energy and political agenda in the process of Venezuela’s “reactivation.”
After more than two hours of talks with the president of the United States, Petro presented an initiative that goes beyond the main issues of the meeting on security and drug trafficking. The proposal, according to statements by the Colombian leader at a press conference, focuses on an ambitious energy cooperation project with Venezuela that would include Colombia’s state-owned oil company Ecopetrol, Venezuela’s PDVSA, and the petrochemical firm Monomeros, all framed within a transition toward clean energy sources and the economic reactivation of the binational border region.
Petro’s expectation in putting forward this deal lies in the current geopolitical context: with the recent arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and a change in the political landscape in Caracas, Bogotá saw an opportunity to reconfigure regional relations while at the same time easing tensions with the United States.
In his remarks to Colombian media yesterday afternoon, Petro stressed that his proposal is not a scheme of unilateral assistance, but rather a project of technical and economic integration that could benefit the three countries involved, provided that certain economic restrictions and sanctions still in force on Venezuela are reviewed.
Colombia’s Petro proposed a trilateral deal with Venezuela and the US to Trump
The central idea of the plan is to concentrate efforts in western Venezuela, specifically in the areas bordering Colombia, where the existing energy infrastructure—electric cables, gas pipelines, and oil pipelines—would allow productive reactivation to begin immediately.
According to Petro, this border belt has the potential to become an engine of economic development not only for Venezuela, but also for Colombia, by leveraging technical capabilities and the supply of clean energy produced in Colombia. The Colombian president highlighted that this energy, coming from sources such as wind and solar power, could supply not only western Venezuela but even extend to larger markets, opening up new opportunities for regional integration.
In the proposal, Ecopetrol appears as the Colombian actor with the technical and logistical capacity to lead the binational process. The plan is for this state-owned company to partner with PDVSA, the Venezuelan oil company, to coordinate joint investment and operations in strategic sectors such as oil, gas, and fertilizers, in which Monómeros would also play an important role as a producer of agricultural inputs.
Cooperation with Monómeros, in particular, is envisioned as a key element to strengthen food security and agricultural productivity in both countries, especially if it becomes possible to overcome this company’s inclusion on international sanctions lists.
The role of sanctions and Washington’s response
A crucial point that Petro put on the table with Trump was a review of the sanctions that the United States currently maintains against Venezuela. On this matter, Petro said at the press conference he held after the meeting at the White House that Trump showed a willingness to consider revising the sanctions regime in western Venezuela, which would open the door for Ecopetrol and other companies to operate with fewer restrictions and greater legal certainty.
The U.S. administration reportedly viewed the proposal for energy integration with interest, although without committing for now to a detailed plan or a specific timeline for lifting those measures.
This approach by Petro reflects a broader strategy: linking the transition toward clean energy with economic and social objectives, such as the substitution of illicit crops in border regions.
According to the Colombian president, by offering productive alternatives based on energy and technical cooperation, it would be possible to reduce the appeal of illegal economies that have prevailed in areas such as Catatumbo, a Colombian region affected by coca production and violence associated with armed groups.
A meeting that restores cordiality between Bogota and Washington
The meeting between Petro and Trump took place in a climate of cordiality and in a context of renewed confidence between the two governments, following a year of harsh confrontations, constant threats, and sanctions. Although Trump and Petro come from distant ideological spectrums, the conversation on energy and the potential for shared economic benefit appeared to be part of the easing of tensions that characterized the meeting and of its central issue: the fight against drug trafficking.
The Colombian president described the meeting as productive and highlighted that there was openness on Trump’s part to explore these cooperation initiatives which, until recently, would have seemed unlikely given the political differences between Washington and Caracas.
Meanwhile, analysts point out that the business proposal put forward by Petro, while ambitious, is not without complications. The viability of integrating operations between state-owned companies such as Ecopetrol and PDVSA will depend largely on concrete progress in sanctions policy, political stabilization in Venezuela, and the ability to build trust between governments.
The proposal has also sparked debates over sovereignty, political risks, and the environmental management of large-scale energy projects. However, for Petro, this plan represents a bet on a model of regional cooperation that seeks to reconcile economic interests, sustainable development, and territorial security in a context of geopolitical changes in Latin America, at a time when Venezuela appears to be beginning a political transition overseen from the White House.