The US leader is set to host his leftist sparring rival Petro at the White House next Tuesday for talks on combatting drug trafficking from Colombia, the world's top cocaine producer.

Writing on X, Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said seven members of the Gulf Clan were "neutralized" during a joint operation by the police and air force in Magdalena department on the Caribbean Sea.

A defense ministry official on Wednesday told AFP that five cartel members were killed and two captured.

Sanchez said the dead included Wilson Dario Ruiz Velez, who goes by the alias "Moises" or "07" and whom the minister said was "responsible for the violent expansion of the group in the Caribbean region."

The highly anticipated meeting between Trump and Petro follows a bitter war of words on social media, which culminated with Washington sanctioning Petro and his family for alleged narcotrafficking.

Petro, a former left-wing guerrilla, denies the allegations.

He has been fiercely critical of Trump's migrant deportations and Washington's campaign of deadly strikes on suspected Latin American drug boats.

After the US ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, Trump warned Petro to "watch his ass" but the pair have since sought to dial down tensions and vowed to cooperate in the war on drugs.

Petro's government has held peace talks with the Gulf Clan in Qatar, as part of the president's bid to get all remaining armed groups in Colombia to disband.

The negotiations have yet to produce tangible results.

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