President Donald Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, saying they had exchanged a friendly phone call and he'd even invited the leader of the South American country to the White House.
Aidarous al-Zubaidi is wanted on treason charges in Yemen after he led a lightning military offensive that escalated a bitter feud between the Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The conversation appeared to defuse a crisis that erupted after President Trump said military action against Colombia "sounds good." President Gustavo Petro spoke to The New York Times just before the call.
The military said it had completed the first phase of a plan to demilitarize armed groups as fears grew that Israel was preparing a new offensive against Hezbollah.
The U.S. military had been pursuing the Russian-flagged tanker as part of its pressure campaign against Venezuela. The move deepens a confrontation with Russia after the U.S. ouster of Venezuela's president.
