Colombian President Gustavo Petro has raised the stakes ahead of his upcoming White House meeting with US President Donald Trump, saying the talks could help “stop a world war” as military pressure mounts across South America.Speaking to CBS News, the left-wing leader said he welcomed the invitation to Washington and hoped continued dialogue would prevent the region from sliding into conflict. Asked directly about his goal for the meeting, Petro replied: “To stop a world war.”

Extended interview: Colombian President Gustavo Petro (in Spanish)

Petro said his concerns were rooted in what he described as growing militarisation in the region, particularly following US action in Venezuela. He pointed to images of helicopters and missiles and warned that Colombia, which lacks an air defence system, would be dangerously exposed if tensions escalated further.

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“I’m not going to say that I’m not afraid,” Petro said. He warned that any attack on Colombia’s leadership would almost certainly trigger civil war and fuel hostility towards the United States. “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,” he told CBS.The comments come as Washington sharpens its posture in Latin America after the US operation that removed Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro. Trump has since signalled an aggressive approach towards drug trafficking networks, while also moving quickly to assert control over Venezuela’s oil exports and revive production through US-backed investment.

Petro has sought to frame cooperation as the alternative to confrontation. On Friday, he urged Venezuela to join Colombia in fighting drug-trafficking groups operating along their shared 2,200-kilometre border. Writing on X, Petro said he had invited Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez to act jointly to ensure drug gangs were “defeated by our nations in unity”.That appeal followed a phone call earlier this week in which Petro and Trump agreed to take “joint action” against cocaine-smuggling guerrillas along the Colombia–Venezuela frontier. Colombian officials say Petro asked Trump to help “strike hard” at the National Liberation Army, the country’s last major rebel group, which is believed to maintain rear bases inside Venezuela.Trump said that Petro is expected to visit the White House in early February.