Colombian President Petro Says Trump Told Him U.S. Was Preparing a 'Military Operation' In The Country Before Defusing Tensions

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said U.S. counterpart Donald Trump told him the military was preparing "bad things" in the South American country before the two defused tensions.

Speaking to Spanish outlet El Pais, Petro claimed that Trump's message was "that they were preparing something now, planning it, a military operation." He went on to say that the phone call led to a "freezing" of the threat, but he "could be wrong."

In another interview with The New York Times following the call, Petro said he feared being captured like Venezuela's authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela and was set to begin sleeping in the presidential palace before the phone call.

He added that he was set to sleep next to the sword of Simon Bolivar, an independence hero in South America, concerned that Trump would try to justify an operation to capture him by trying to link him to Maduro.

However, following the call Petro posted an AI picture of a jaguar embracing a bald eagle to illustrate the amicable tone.

In a social media publication, Petro recalled that he wrote a letter to Trump that a "great American alliance can be established if South America's clean energy potential is seized," claiming that the region can satisfy the country's entire grid with clean energy.

"That is what peace and global democracy means. Using Latin America for its oil can only lead to the destruction of international law and therefore barbarity and a third world war. World peace would be at real risk and we would move towards climatic collapse and the extinction of life," Petro warned.

It is a large departure from previous rhetoric, when Petro said "he would be willing to take up arms again if necessary to defend Colombia's sovereignty, responding to what he described as threats from Trump."