Speaking to a US news network for the first time after his first meeting with President Trump, Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro said on Thursday that he was happy to be invited to a meeting at the White House and hoped that an ongoing conversation with Mr Trump would “stop a world war”.
In light of that US attack on Venezuela and the capture of the country’s former president, Petro said that any US attack on his country would start a civil war in Colombia, and that “it would be dumb politics.”
Below is a transcript of highlights from a phone interview with Petro by CBS News correspondent Lilia Luciano.
Lilia Luciano: What did you say to President Trump? What did he tell you? Was a promise made?
President Gustavo Petro: It gave me the opportunity to explain two points I wanted to make…
Luciano: What were those points? What did you say to him?
Peter: Our successes in fighting drug trafficking in Colombia run counter to the narrative they have created in the United States. I call that political jealousy (about our success against) the drug trade in Colombia, and they don’t…
Luciano: You have informed them of the success…
Peter: And the United States knows nothing about it.
Luciano: You told them about the success of cocaine and drug trafficking in Colombia. What else did you say to him?
Peter: Well, apart from those results, which were very good – historic, I would say in terms of numbers – we talked about Venezuela, on my initiative. He did not mention Venezuela. He did not mention specifics, but we talked about a procedure to restore communication.
Luciano: He didn’t talk about Venezuela, but there was a discussion about Venezuela. He didn’t give you specifics, but you talked about Venezuela. What did you talk about? He did not give specifics about Venezuela. What does that mean, and what was said about Venezuela?
Peter: This means that perhaps these points will only be dealt with in person, which I think is fine.
Luciano: Is that conversation waiting to happen?
Peter: If there has been no communication throughout his tenure, rebuilding is undoubtedly not easy and is the first thing to do. Figures can be disputed, but they must be official, and falsehoods must be exposed.
Luciano: Tell me more about what President Trump told you.
Peter: He let me speak for 40 of the 55 minutes… He said, “They have told other lies about you about me.”
Luciano: Were you ever afraid of President Trump coming after you?
Peter: Look, what I fear the most, and I won’t say that I’m not afraid of being threatened when I see images of helicopters and missiles (in Venezuela), when we don’t even have an air defense system… But if that happens here against the president of Colombia… That would undoubtedly cause a civil war for the United States, and a civil war that the United States does not deserve. It would be a foolish policy.”
Luciano: What is your goal? Why are you going to the White House? Is this to stop a war in Latin America?
Peter: To stop a world war.
Petro has invited Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, an insider to his ousted predecessor, whom the Colombian leader calls a friend, to visit him at his presidential palace, but says he has no plans to mediate between Rodriguez and Mr. Trump.
Luciano: Do you trust President Trump’s intentions in Venezuela?
Peter: I think he believes in shared governance, but not separate from the idea of maintaining control of oil.
Petro says he does not support the Trump administration’s plans to control Venezuela’s oil production, saying he believes he and the US leader share a vision of who should govern Venezuela going forward.
Luciano: Are you suggesting a shared government between the Delcy regime, along with the opposition?
Peter: Yes.
Luciano: What do you think about (Venezuelan opposition leader) María Corina Machado?
Peter: Look, he said – I have never spoken to him.
Luciano: So you wouldn’t trust him or protect him as a leader?
Peter: I invited him once, and he didn’t want to come. I was obviously surprised that Trump thought the same thing as me.
Mr Trump said after the US capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that he did not believe Machado had enough support to be a viable leader in his country, and despite both he and Petro expressing distrust in him, the Venezuelan people appear to disagree.
Among the opposition, he was polling at 93% before Maduro’s decisive victory last year, but the US and Machado say he stole it. While the Maduro regime barred Machado from running, the US and many outside observers believe the candidate he backed won 70% of the vote, despite Maduro declaring himself the winner.