The Situation Room - February 4th

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I’m Atlas, and welcome to The Situation Room! We cover the most high impact geopolitical developments every Wednesday!

Today’s topics:

• Colombian President Approaches Possible Detente With The U.S.

• E.U. Plans For Minerals Partnership With The U.S.

• U.K. Politician Steps Down And His Now Under Criminal Investigation Over Ties To Epstein

Colombian President Approaches Possible Detente With The U.S.

_{By: Atlas}

President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro emerged from a two-hour White House meeting Tuesday trading compliments instead of insults, a sharp reversal from weeks earlier when Trump threatened military action against the longtime U.S. ally and called its leader a "sick man."

The closed-door talks produced no formal joint statement and few concrete details. But both presidents described the encounter in positive terms—a significant shift given the trajectory of their relationship over the past year.

"He and I weren't exactly the best of friends, but I wasn't insulted because I never met him," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office afterward. "I didn't know him at all, and we got along very well."

"I thought he was terrific," Trump added. "We got along great."

Petro held his own news conference at the Colombian embassy and echoed the sentiment.

"My impression of the meeting a few hours ago is first and foremost that it was positive," he said.

A Year of Escalating Tensions

The détente follows months of rhetorical warfare between two leaders who occupy opposite ends of the political spectrum—Trump a conservative nationalist, Petro a leftist former guerrilla fighter who has positioned himself as a critic of American foreign policy.

Trump accused Petro of failing to control the flow of cocaine from Colombia, the world's largest producer of the drug. In October, his administration imposed sanctions on Petro, his wife, his son, and his interior minister over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade—allegations Petro denied.

The Trump administration also "decertified" Colombia as a partner in counternarcotics efforts for the first time in three decades, saying coca cultivation and cocaine production had "surged to all-time records" under Petro's government.

For his part, Petro condemned U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that have killed at least 126 people across 36 known operations. He compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to "Nazi brigades" and accused Washington of treating sovereign nations as part of its "empire."

The relationship deteriorated further after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a military operation on January 3. Petro, who had defended the socialist leader, called the raid a "kidnapping" and a violation of international law.

Trump responded by warning that Colombia could be next.

"It sounds good to me," Trump said when asked about a similar operation against Petro. He called the Colombian president "a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States" and warned him to "watch his ass."

A Phone Call Changed the Tone

The turnaround came after an hourlong phone call between the two leaders on January 7, arranged in part by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Paul told reporters he explained to the White House that Colombia was "willing to talk, eager to talk, and would like to avoid military conflict." Trump agreed it was "an ideal time to have diplomacy."

In a social media post after the call, Trump said it was a "great honor" to speak with Petro, who had called to explain "the situation of drugs and other disagreements." Trump extended an invitation to Washington.

"He's been very nice over the last month or two," Trump said Monday on the eve of the visit. "He was certainly critical before that, but somehow, after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice. He changed his attitude very much."

Colombia made several gestures of goodwill in the days before Tuesday's meeting. Hours before Petro arrived at the White House, Colombian authorities extradited the lead narcotrafficker of the criminal group "La Inmaculada" to the United States—resuming extraditions that had been stalled for months. Colombia also abruptly agreed to accept U.S. deportation flights, reversing a position that had contributed to the falling out between the two governments.

What Was Discussed

Trump said the two leaders discussed cooperation on counternarcotics operations and worked on lifting the sanctions his administration had imposed on Colombia. He did not elaborate on the terms.

Petro said he asked Trump to help capture major drug traffickers living outside Colombia—"kingpins," he called them—and provided the U.S. president with names. He argued that the most powerful figures in the drug trade live not in the jungles of Colombia but in cities like Dubai, Madrid, and Miami.

"If people have no options to eat, and live in the jungle, or places where there is no transportation to produce something legal, what there will be is drug trafficking," Petro said, reiterating his long-held view that eradication policies hurt local communities without addressing Western demand for narcotics.

Petro also said Trump agreed to mediate a trade dispute between Colombia and Ecuador, whose president, Daniel Noboa, is a Trump ally. The two South American neighbors have imposed 30 percent tariffs on each other's goods.

The Colombian president said the two discussed ways to "reactivate Venezuela" economically, including through energy projects. The United States now has partial control over Venezuela's government and its vast oil reserves following Maduro's capture.

Symbolic Gestures and Missing Ceremony

The White House did not afford Petro the traditional military honor guard or ceremonial protocol typically extended to visiting foreign leaders. He arrived at a side entrance rather than being greeted by Trump at the North Portico before the gathered press.

Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio, a Colombian American and frequent Petro critic, was included in the U.S. delegation—a choice that drew attention given their high-profile clash last year. Moreno had brought an AI-generated image of Petro in an orange jumpsuit to a White House lunch, a move the Colombian president slammed as "brutal disrespect."

Still, Petro appeared upbeat after the meeting, posting photographs on social media of himself strolling the West Wing colonnade with Trump. He shared images of gifts the U.S. president gave him: a signed copy of "The Art of the Deal" inscribed "You are great," a handwritten note reading "Gustavo—A great honor. I love Colombia," and a red "Make America Great Again" hat.

Petro joked that the hat "could be the basis of a pact to make the Americas great again."

He also invited Trump to visit Cartagena, the Colombian resort city, calling it "a cool and beautiful place to live."

An Uncertain Path Forward

Whether the goodwill lasts remains an open question. Petro fundamentally disagrees with U.S. drug policy and continues to argue that interdiction and eradication hurt farmers without curbing demand. Trump has made dismantling narcotics networks a priority and shows little patience for leaders who resist his approach.

Petro's term ends this summer, with Colombians set to elect his successor in May. The next Colombian president will inherit whatever framework—if any—emerges from Tuesday's meeting.

For now, both sides appear content to step back from the brink.

"I believe a new path is being born today," Petro said.

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