Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Tuesday he provided President Donald Trump with a list of major drug traffickers when they met at the White House.
"The first line of drug trafficking is not what you imagine," Petro said in a translated transcript of a news conference held at the Colombian Embassy in Washington after his meeting with Trump.
"The first line lives in Dubai, in Madrid, in Miami. U.S. agencies know them.
"I gave their names to President Trump. They are the 'bosses of bosses.'
"Their capital is outside Colombia, and they have to be pursued jointly through intelligence cooperation across many parts of the world," Petro added.
Trump and Petro have been at odds for months, with tensions escalating amid the U.S. military crackdown on drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
And the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and returning him to the U.S. to face federal drug charges further strained relations.
Petro said that his meeting with Trump was "positive" and that he urged closer cooperation between Colombia and the U.S. to detain top-level traffickers.
"I told President Trump: If you want an ally in the fight against drug trafficking, it's against the bosses of bosses," Petro said.
"I showed him videos of how peasants today, by the thousands, are themselves pulling coca plants out by the root. That's the most effective way to eradicate.
"These are issues we bring from direct experience. Colombia has a very high level of experience, and it can be offered to the world.
"And when you combine intelligence with experience, we are effective," he said.
Petro also highlighted his administration's record on seizures and extraditions.
"That's why my government is the one that has seized the most thousands of tons of cocaine in the entire history of humanity," he said, "and the one that has extradited the most Colombian persons for being involved in that business."
Petro added that Colombia is prepared to work with nations including Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Albania, and the U.S. "to defeat a transnational multinational crime enterprise."
"Its biggest capital is not in Bogota," Petro said. "Its bosses, some Colombian, most not Colombian, could fill the world with fentanyl, with the danger that represents for the human species."
Petro said the two leaders discussed "concrete problems and possible paths forward," even as they remain divided on many issues.
"We talked about concrete problems and joint paths to solve them," Petro said. "He didn't change his way of thinking on many things. Neither did I.
"But how do you make a pact? A pact isn't between identical twins.
"A pact is between opponents who can find paths toward human brotherhood. And that can be done in days," Petro concluded.
Newsmax has contacted the White House for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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