Colombian President Gustavo Petro is heading to Washington for a high-stakes trip to meet US President Donald Trump, the first in-person meeting between the two after months of escalating tensions and angry rhetoric.


Venezuela, drug trafficking, oil, security, and US strikes on alleged drug vessels will be high on the agenda when they meet at the White House on Tuesday.


While the two men were cordial in a phone call after the 3 January US military operation to seize Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, Petro has since said he believes that there is a real threat of military action against Colombia.


Trump, for his part, has previously said that a military operation in Colombia sounds good.


Tuesday's meeting follows months of the two leaders trading barbs - with Petro repeatedly criticizing the repeat US strikes on the alleged drugs boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, as well as the White House's immigration policies.


In an interview with the BBC last month, Petro went as far as to compare US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to Nazi brigades and accused the US of treating other countries as part of its empire.


On the US side, Trump has accused Petro's government of not doing enough to stop the flow of cocaine heading north and has vowed to expand strikes to land targets across the region.


But the acrimony seemed to dissipate following a cordial phone call between the two leaders, which a Colombian official later described as an 180-degree turn from both sides.


According to diplomatic sources, one man - Rand Paul, US Senator for Kentucky - was instrumental in setting up the conversation.


Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio stated that much of the discussion would be centered around shared US and Colombian concerns over security in Venezuela.


The meeting's implications are significant given the upcoming electoral transition in Colombia, where Petro's approach to international relations could greatly affect the chances of the candidate he supports, Senator Iván Cepeda, in the election slated for later this year.