Despite some recent cordiality, the Colombian and American leaders have long traded barbs and accusations.
Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessTechnologyHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesHomeNewsUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessWorld of BusinessTechnology of BusinessNYSE Opening BellTechnologyWatch DocumentariesArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindHealthWatch DocumentariesCultureWatch DocumentariesFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsWatch DocumentariesArts in MotionTravelWatch DocumentariesDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthWatch DocumentariesScienceNatural WondersClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoWatch DocumentariesBBC MaestroDiscover the WorldLiveLive NewsLive SportDocumentariesHomeNewsSportBusinessTechnologyHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveAfter months of acrimony, Colombia's Petro is about to meet Trump9 hours agoShareSaveCristobal VasquezandBernd Debusmann Jr,The White HouseShareSaveGetty ImagesPresident Gustavo Petro has repeatedly condemned US foreign policy and raised the spectre of US military action in ColombiaColombian President Gustavo Petro is heading to Washington for a high-stakes trip to meet US President Donald Trump, the first in-person meeting between the two after months of escalating tensions and angry rhetoric.
Venezuela, drug trafficking, oil, security and US strikes on alleged drug vessels will be high on the agenda when they meet at the White House on Tuesday.
While the two men were cordial in a phone call after the 3 January US military operation to seize Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, Petro has since said he believes that there is a "real threat" of military action against Colombia.
Trump, for his part, has previously said that a military operation in Colombia "sounds good".
Tuesday's meeting follows months of the two leaders trading barbs - with Petro repeatedly criticising the repeat US strikes on the alleged drugs boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, as well as the White House's immigration policies.
In an interview with the BBC last month, Petro went as far as to compare US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to "Nazi brigades" and accused the US of treating other countries as part of its "empire".
Watch: "He changed his attitude" - Trump on Colombia's Petro ahead of White House meetingOn the US side, Trump has accused Petro's government of not doing enough to stop the flow of cocaine heading north, and has vowed to expand strikes to land targets across the region.
But the acrimony seemed to dissipate following a "cordial" phone call between the two leaders, which a Colombian official later described as an 180-degree turn "from both sides".
According to diplomatic sources, one man - Rand Paul, US Senator for Kentucky - was instrumental in setting up the conversation.
"I believe in diplomacy and I thought our relations were going in the wrong way," the senator told the BBC. "And I'd like to see our relations improve."
Paul, who has sometimes
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