Speaking for the first time with a U.S. news network following his first-ever conversation with President Trump, Colombia’s left-wing President Gustavo Petro said Thursday that he was glad to have been invited for a meeting at the White House, and he hoped an ongoing dialogue with Mr. Trump would “stop a world war.”
In the wake of the U.S. attack on Venezuela and capture of the country’s former president, Petro said any attack on his country by the U.S. would start a civil war in Colombia, and “would be dumb policy.”
Below is a transcript of some of the highlights of CBS News correspondent Lilia Luciano’s interview with Petro.
Lilia Luciano: What did you tell President Trump? What did he tell you? Were there any promises made?
President Gustavo Petro: He allowed me to explain two points I wanted to make .…
Luciano: What were those points? What did you tell him?
Petro: Our successes in combating drug trafficking in Colombia go against the narrative that they have created in the United States. I call this political jealousy [over our successes against] Colombian drug trafficking, and they don’t…
Luciano: You told them about the success…
Petro: And the United States doesn’t know anything about that.
Luciano: You told them about the success of your trafficking seizures of cocaine and drugs in Colombia. What else did you tell him?
Petro: Well, apart from those results, which have been very good — historic, I would say in terms of figures — we talked about Venezuela, at my initiative. He did not mention Venezuela. He did not mention any specifics, but rather we talked about a procedure to restore communication.
Luciano: He did not talk about Venezuela, but there was a discussion about Venezuela. He didn’t give you any specifics, but you did talk about Venezuela. What did you talk about? He did not give any specifics about Venezuela. What does that mean, and what was said about Venezuela?
Petro: That means that perhaps these points will be dealt with exclusively in person, which seems fine to me.
Luciano: He’s waiting to have that conversation?
Petro: If there has been no communication throughout his entire term, rebuilding it is undoubtedly not easy and is the first thing that needs to be done. The figures may be disputed, but they should be official, and any falsehoods should be exposed.
Luciano: Tell me more about what President Trump told you.
Petro: He let me talk for 40 of the 55 minutes … He told me: ‘They’ve told as many lies about you as they have about me.’
Luciano: Were you ever afraid of President Trump coming after you?
Petro: Look, what I’m most afraid of, and I’m not gonna say that I’m not afraid to be threatened when I see the images of helicopters flying in and missiles [in Venezuela], when we don’t even have an air defense system … But that if something happens here against the President of Colombia … That would without a doubt cause a civil war, and also a hostility toward the United States that the United States does not deserve. It would be dumb policy.”
Luciano: What is your goal? Why are you going to the White House? Is this about stopping a war in Latin America?
Petro: To stop a world war.
Petro has invited Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez, a member of her ousted predecessor’s inner circle, whom the Colombian leader calls a friend, to visit him at his own presidential palace, but says he’s not planning to mediate between Rodriguez and Mr. Trump.
Luciano: Do you trust President Trump’s intentions in Venezuela?
Petro: I think he believes in shared governance, but not separate from the idea of retaining control of the oil.
While Petro says he does not condone the Trump administration’s plans to control Venezuelan oil output, he said he does believe he and the U.S. leader share a vision on who should govern Venezuela going forward.
Luciano: You’re suggesting a shared government between the Delcy regime, alongside the opposition?
Petro: Yes.
Luciano: What do you think about [Venezuelan opposition leader] María Corina Machado?
Petro: Look, she has said – I have never talked to her.
Luciano: So, you wouldn’t trust her or support her as a leader?
Petro: I invited her once, and she didn’t want to come. I was obviously surprised that Trump thought the same thing as me.
Mr. Trump said after the U.S. captured former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that he didn’t believe Machado had enough support inside her country to be a viable leader, and despite both he and Petro voicing distrust in her, the Venezuelan people appear to disagree.
Among the opposition, she was polling at 93% ahead of an election last year in which Maduro claimed a decisive victory, but which the U.S. and Machado say he stole. While the Maduro regime blocked Machado from running, the candidate she backed is believed by the U.S. and many outside observers to have won 70% of the vote, despite Maduro declaring himself the winner.