Washington
\nUS President Donald Trump has said he will meet his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro at the White House in the \u201cnear future\u201d, just days after saying an operation targeting Colombia \u201csounds good\u201d.
\nThe US seized the president of neighbouring Venezuela, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, in a raid on Caracas on Saturday night.
\nVenezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on Wednesday that the death toll in the raid was substantially higher than initially reported, with more than 100 people killed.
\nLocal media had previously reported that 23 Venezuelan and 32 Cuban soldiers died when US forces stormed Maduro\u2019s compound in the capital, Caracas.
\nDuring a call with Trump, Petro explained \u201cthe situation of drugs and other disagreements\u201d, the US president said, adding he appreciated the Colombian president\u2019s \u201ctone\u201d. Earlier this week, Trump had issued a warning to Petro, telling him to \u201cwatch his ass\u201d.
\nColombia is a key hub for the region\u2019s drug trade – most notably cocaine – as well as having substantial oil reserves. It is also a major producer of gold, silver, emeralds, platinum and coal.
\nThe US has said it will control sales of Venezuelan oil \u201cindefinitely\u201d as it prepares to roll back restrictions on the country\u2019s crude in global markets, according to the White House.
\nSpeaking aboard Air Force One following the operation in Venezuela, Trump described Petro as a \u201csick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States\u201d.
\nTrump added: \u201cHe\u2019s not going to be doing it for very long.\u201d
\nIn response, Petro warned that Colombia would \u201ctake up arms\u201d if the US launched any military action against his country.
\n\u201cIf you detain a president whom much of my people want and respect, you will unleash the people\u2019s jaguar,\u201d Petro wrote on X.
\nBut writing on his Truth Social platform late on Wednesday, Trump described his conversation with Petro as a \u201cGreat Honour\u201d, and said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Colombian counterpart would make arrangements for Petro to travel to Washington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington US President Donald Trump has said he will meet his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro at the White House in the \u201cnear future\u201d, just days after saying an operation targeting Colombia \u201csounds good\u201d. The US seized the president of neighbouring Venezuela, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, in a raid on Caracas on Saturday night. Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":524553,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-524536","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n