Bogotá, Colombia - Colombia's outgoing leftist leader Gustavo Petro said Friday he had discussed anti-drug-trafficking efforts and sanctions against him during a call with President Donald Trump.
The ideologically opposed leaders have traded blows on social media multiple times, with Trump even slapping sanctions on Petro at one point.
In an X post, Petro said he had a "friendly conversation" with his US counterpart, just weeks after the victory of White House-backed president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella over Colombia's first-ever leftist government.
The leader detailed how he had fulfilled an agreed objective of eradicating some 30,000 hectares of coca leaf – the base ingredient of cocaine in the world's largest producer of the drug.
Trump enthusiastically endorsed De la Espriella before and after the razor-thin runoff on June 21, which the millionaire lawyer won by less than a percentage point.
Petro voiced surprise that Trump "didn't know that I didn't support Abelardo de la Espriella."
"I was astonished that he didn't know that my family and I were still on the OFAC list," he added on X, referring to his name appearing on a US blacklist mostly featuring major drug traffickers, terror suspects and dictators.
"He promised to take action on the matter," Petro said.
Trump had imposed sanctions on his Colombian counterpart, calling him a "drug leader" and claiming that he was not doing enough to counter drug-trafficking.
The pair managed to defuse their turbulent relationship during a meeting at the White House in February, during which Trump gifted Petro a signed copy of his 1987 book Art of the Deal.