BOGOTA, March 12 (Reuters) – A meeting scheduled for Friday between Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez was canceled on Thursday, a source within Petro’s office told Reuters.
News of the meeting’s cancellation followed a phone call between Petro and U.S. President Donald Trump, who wished Petro success in his meeting with Rodriguez, according to a statement from Petro’s office.
The Rodriguez-Petro bilateral was to be Rodriguez’s first presidential-level in-person meeting since she took power following the ouster of her predecessor President Nicolas Maduro by the U.S. in January.
Colombia and Venezuela are working to reschedule the meeting, the source said, without giving a reason for the cancellation. Various Colombian media also reported the cancellation, while the Venezuelan government did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Petro and Trump discussed the economy along the Colombia-Venezuela border, which was expected to be the top topic at the Petro-Rodriguez meeting, the statement from Petro’s office said. Trump said Petro, who he sanctioned last year, is welcome in the U.S. and apologized for not inviting the Colombian leader to a meeting in Miami last week with other Latin American heads of state.
Trump has supported a series of moves by Rodriguez, formerly Venezuela’s vice president, to attract investors in oil and mining and stabilize the country since the January raid that captured Maduro, with Trump repeatedly praising Rodriguez for her cooperation with the U.S.
Petro and Trump have had repeated squabbles, though the two men were each positive after a face-to-face meeting in Washington last month.
Trump has repeatedly demanded more cooperation from Colombia in the fight against drug trafficking and has accused Petro, without evidence, of being an “illegal drug leader”. Petro claims record drug seizures during his tenure and has said Washington’s deadly strikes on alleged drug boats amount to war crimes.
“During the call, the two leaders discussed energy issues, hydrocarbons, security, illicit crops, eradication efforts and the joint fight against drug trafficking. They also talked about economic reactivation along the border and other matters of bilateral interest,” the statement from Petro’s office said.
“In the course of the conversation, the Colombian president extended an invitation to his U.S. counterpart to visit Cartagena, which was warmly received. President Trump, in turn, reiterated that President Petro will always be welcome in the United States and expressed apologies for any previous inconvenience related to an invitation to Miami,” the statement said.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta and Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by David Gregorio)
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