Colombian President Gustavo Petro held a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump on 3 July, during which he requested Washington’s support for his removal from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list and discussed the future of coca substitution programmes. The call, described by Petro as “amiable”, comes one month before he leaves office and as president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, a right-wing figure openly backed by Trump, prepares to take power.

According to a statement from the Colombian presidency, Petro “cordially” asked Trump to back his exit from the list, which has targeted him, his family, and senior officials since October 2025 over alleged narcotics links. Trump reportedly replied that he “will do his best” to make that happen and, after their February Oval Office meeting, had concluded Petro was “a good man”. Petro later expressed surprise on social media that Trump was unaware he did not support De la Espriella and that his family remained on the OFAC list, adding that Trump promised to act.

On anti-drug efforts, Petro told Trump that Colombia had met a target of eradicating nearly 30,000 hectares of coca and expected to reach 41,000 by year-end, and he urged the US to maintain funding for voluntary crop substitution. However, data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) contradicts those figures: its regional director told La Silla Vacía that only 9,200 hectares had been eradicated in four and a half months, and at the current pace the total would reach just 28,000 hectares. The UNODC’s latest report recorded 261,000 hectares under coca cultivation in 2024, a 3.5% increase, though the slowest rise in four years.

Viewed from Washington, the call signals a potential recalibration of bilateral ties after a period of open friction, including Trump’s withdrawal of Colombia’s anti-drug certification in 2025 and his endorsement of De la Espriella. The incoming Colombian government, which takes office on 7 August, will inherit the OFAC designations and the substitution programme, which Petro says is funded through December 2026. Trump’s commitment to engage with the next administration to foster “political understanding” with the opposition, as noted by the Colombian presidency, leaves the sanctions review and programme continuity contingent on the transition.