Colombia’s Gustavo Petro arrives at White House to talk drugs, Venezuela

President Trump met with Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the White House on Tuesday to discuss drug trafficking and Venezuela’s path forward after last month’s U.S. raid captured President Nicolas Maduro.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Petro met behind closed doors for roughly two hours.

Mr. Trump called it a “very good meeting” and said they will work together to combat narcotic trafficking.

“I thought he was terrific, we got along great,” Mr. Trump said later during a bill signing in the Oval Office.

The pair is trying to improve a relationship that has been frosty at times but is taking on new urgency because the U.S. has partial control of Colombia’s neighbor Venezuela and its oil reserves. Mr. Trump also put a premium on thwarting drug traffickers from South America, and Colombia is historically a top cocaine producer.

Mr. Trump has accused the Petro government of failing to stem the northbound flow of cocaine and threatened military strikes on land targets if the problem was not fixed.

Mr. Petro, meanwhile, criticized U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. He also compared U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to “Nazi brigades” and accused Washington of treating sovereign nations as part of its “empire.”

“He and I weren’t exactly the best of friends,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday, but added: “We got along very well.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio granted Mr. Petro a temporary U.S. entry authorization so he could attend the Trump meeting with a revoked visa, suggesting that tensions between the two nations may be thawing.

Mr. Trump said Mr. Petro seemed to undergo an attitude adjustment after the Jan. 3 military operation ended with Mr. Maduro in New York to face narco-terrorism charges.

Elsewhere, China on Tuesday continued to criticize the U.S. over the Maduro raid.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the U.S. “blatantly launched military strikes against Venezuela and forcibly seized President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

“Such hegemonic moves seriously violated international law, infringed upon Venezuela’s sovereignty and threatened peace and stability in Latin America and the Caribbean. China firmly opposes this. China supports Venezuela in safeguarding its sovereignty, dignity and lawful rights, and will work with the international community to firmly defend the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, the fundamental principles of international justice, and international fairness,” he said.

Mr. Trump is deploying a “Donroe Doctrine” to establish the U.S. as the main player in the Western Hemisphere while stiff-arming rivals such as Russia and China that have cozied up to countries like Cuba and Venezuela.

Following his White House meeting, Mr. Petro posted a photograph on X of him shaking hands with Mr. Trump.

“Gustavo — a great honor. I love Colombia: Donald Trump,” Mr. Trump signed in black marker on a piece of paper bound with the photograph.

Mr. Petro’s four-year term is set to end this summer. His successor will be chosen in an election this May before taking office when Mr. Petro departs in August.