Steve Cortes, president and founder of the League of American Workers, said Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s White House meeting with President Trump highlights political differences on security and relations with the United States, and he reiterated his support for Abelardo de la Espriella as a leading presidential contender.
“Colombian leftist Pres Petro is at the White House right now, trying to play nice with Pres Trump,” said Cortes. “He’s been a terrible, corrupt politician in Colombia, and notoriously anti-U.S. Time for Abdelardo De La Espriella.”
According to Cortes, this statement was shared in a post on X regarding Petro’s February meeting with Trump. He noted the significance of the visit against recent polling data and highlighted de la Espriella’s candidacy, including an image depicting him in a church setting.
The meeting between Petro and Trump took place on February 3, 2026, focusing on issues such as drug trafficking and bilateral relations. Both leaders described the session as productive and cordial despite previous criticisms exchanged between them. During the encounter, Petro received a red MAGA hat as a gift.
Polling by TIPP Insights conducted from January 8 to 14, 2026, among 2,051 Colombians showed significant support for U.S.-Colombia relations. Sixty-five percent approved of Nicolás Maduro’s arrest by U.S. authorities, with approval peaking at 81 percent in the Plains region. Petro’s approval rating was recorded at 39 percent compared to Trump’s 45 percent in Colombia. Additionally, seventy-three percent of respondents expressed a desire for stronger U.S.-Colombia ties.
In preliminary polling for Colombia’s upcoming presidential race in 2026, leftist candidate Iván Cepeda led with 31 percent support. Conservative candidate Abelardo de la Espriella followed with 25 percent support, while centrist Sergio Fajardo garnered 12 percent. Runoff projections indicated de la Espriella leading Fajardo by six percentage points.
Cortes is also known as a senior political advisor to CatholicVote and has served as a senior advisor to both President Trump and JD Vance. His commentary work includes contributions to Fox News and CNN.
