WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 President Joe Biden is hosting Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the White House for talks next week, offering a high-profile visit to the leftist leader who has vowed to bring 鈥渢otal peace鈥 to his nation of 50 million after six-decades of conflict.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that Biden and Petro during the April 20 visit will discuss economic and security cooperation as well as efforts to combat climate change, counter narcotics trafficking, migration, and more.
Colombia鈥檚 government and its largest remaining rebel group - the communist-inspired 春色直播 Liberation Army, known as ELN鈥攍aunched talks in November shortly after Petro was elected president.
Petro has a cornerstone of his plan aimed at resolving a conflict that dates back to the 1960s.
Some rural areas of Colombia are still under the grip of drug gangs and rebel groups despite a 2016 peace deal with the larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
