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WASHINGTON —In a sign that Washington intends to retain its historically strong ties with Bogota, U.S. President Joe Biden on April 20 will welcome to the White House Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the leftist leader who broke his predecessor's positions on the war on drugs, Venezuela and Cuba that have been a cornerstone of the close relationship between the United States and Colombia.
"Colombia is a key partner of the United States, and during the meeting, the two leaders will discuss how the United States and Colombia can continue to deepen our strong bilateral relationship by making progress on areas of mutual national interest, including promoting further economic and security cooperation," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement to VOA. "The two leaders will also discuss joint efforts to combat climate change, counter narcotics trafficking, address our regional migration challenge, and promote democratic values and human and labor rights in the region and the world."
Earlier this week, the White House announced that the two countries and Panama would launch a 60-day campaign aimed at shutting the flow of illegal migration through the Darien Gap, a key and dangerous route for migrants heading to the U.S. from South America that has seen a sharp influx of migrants this year.
Biden and Petro are also expected to discuss counternarcotics cooperation. Petro has been critical of the U.S.-led war on drugs, Bogota's decades-long partnership with Washington on the forced eradication of coca, the base ingredient of cocaine, and the extradition of drug cartel leaders.
However, in a major blow to his campaign promise to end armed conflict in his country, last month Petro suspended a cease-fire with the country's main drug trafficking cartel, the Gulf Clan.
An economist and former member of Colombia's M-19 guerrilla group who fought Colombian governments for years before serving in its House and Senate and as mayor of Bogota, Petro won the presidential election in June 2022 with the support of voters frustrated by rising poverty and violence.
Petro is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. Sunday and participate in the 22nd session of the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at U.N. headquarters in New York on Monday. He will be in California on Tuesday to speak on the environment and social justice at Stanford University.
In Washington, Petro will also attend a meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, scheduled for Wednesday.
Jorge Agobian contributed to this report.