Seoul Gazette - Colombia, US vow to improve anti-drug strategy amid Trump-Petro feud

President Gustavo Petro had a "long, frank, and constructive" meeting on Monday with US Charge d'Affaires John McNamara, Colombia's foreign ministry said in a statement, after Trump threatened to revoke all aid and impose punishing tariffs on the South American nation.

"Representatives from both countries agreed that this is the first step toward resolving the current impasse in bilateral relations and that further meetings will be held with the aim of reaching a prompt solution," the statement said.

Trump, who has launched a lethal naval campaign in the Caribbean against alleged drug traffickers, lashed out on Sunday at leftist Petro, calling him an "illegal drug dealer."

In addition to halting aid and imposing tariffs, Trump threatened unspecified action to "close up" drug cultivation in the country -- the world's largest cocaine producer -- if Petro failed to act.

At the meeting with McNamara, Petro "reiterated the importance of the United States basing its assessment on actual figures from the fight against drugs in Colombia," the statement said.

Petro's administration contends that, counter to Trump's assertions, it has continued to combat drug production, touting record seizures.

The leftist government has nonetheless championed a paradigm shift in the US-led war on drugs, away from forced eradication to focus on underlying social problems and aiding coca producers to substitute other crops.

At the meeting between Petro and McNamara, the "senior officials reaffirmed the commitment of both parties to improve drug fighting strategies," Colombia's foreign ministry said.

"It is desirable that these efforts continue to be made in coordination with the United States," the statement added.

R.Song--SG