Colombian President Petro Cancelled a Meeting With Venezuelan Counterpart After Holding a Call With Trump

Colombian President Gustavo Petro canceled a planned meeting with Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodríguez hours after holding a phone call with president Donald Trump. Officials did not, however, link the two developments and provided no detailed explanation for the cancellation.

Petro's office said the Colombian leader spoke by phone with the president on Thursday and discussed economic conditions along the Colombia–Venezuela border. The issue had been expected to feature prominently in Petro's planned talks with Rodríguez, as Reuters reports.

Later that day, the governments of Colombia and Venezuela announced that the presidential meeting scheduled for March 13 had been postponed. In a joint statement, the two governments said the decision was taken for reasons of "force majeure," without providing further details, and indicated the meeting would be rescheduled.

"The governments of Colombia and Venezuela reiterate their willingness to strengthen trust, cooperation and bilateral relations, promoting opportunities for the development and integration of border territories," the statement said.

The meeting had been planned at the Atanasio Girardot International Bridge near the city of Cúcuta, a key crossing between Colombia's Norte de Santander department and Venezuela's Táchira state. The encounter would have marked Rodríguez's first meeting with a foreign leader since she assumed the presidency following the removal of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.

Officials on both sides had prepared an agenda focused on economic cooperation, border security and potential energy agreements. Among the issues under discussion was the possible repair of the Antonio Ricaurte gas pipeline linking Colombia's gas fields in La Guajira with Venezuela's Maracaibo region, which could allow Colombia to import Venezuelan natural gas as domestic reserves decline, as France 24 points out.

Security coordination along the more than 2,200-kilometer border was also expected to be addressed. Armed groups, including guerrilla factions and criminal networks linked to narcotics trafficking and illegal mining, operate in several areas along the frontier.

The cancellation comes amid a complicated relationship between Petro and Trump. The two leaders have alternated between public criticism and diplomatic engagement since the U.S. operation earlier this year that removed Maduro from power.