UPDATE: CNN now reports that “Colombian President Gustavo Petro is offering his presidential plane to help repatriate deportees from the US who were set to arrive in the country Sunday morning, the presidency said. “The measure responds to the government’s commitment to guarantee dignified conditions,” the presidency said in a statement, but did not provide details.”
Original article below.
President Donald Trump responded to news reports that Columbia would not accept repatriation flights from the US by announcing tariffs on the South American country. The Trump administration also plans to close the US embassy in Colombia’s visa section.
In a lengthy post to Truth Social, Trump said: “I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia. This order was given by Colombia’s Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people. Petro’s denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States, so I have directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures:
-Emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States. In one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%.
-A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on the Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters.
-Visa Sanctions on all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government.
-Enhanced Customs and Border Protection Inspections of all Colombian Nationals and Cargo on national security grounds.
-IEEPA Treasury, Banking and Financial Sanctions to be fully imposed.
These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!” The president’s post concluded.
The US embassy in Columbia’s visa section will also be closed. Currently, 1,500 appointments have been scheduled, according to Fox News.
The post comes after Colombia denied entry to two US military aircraft carrying illegal immigrants, deported under Trump’s crackdown on migrants, according to Reuters. This is now at least the second instance in which a Latin American country has rejected US military deportation flights following a similar move by the Claudia Sheinbaum government in Mexico.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro criticized the practice, comparing it to criminalizing deported individuals. On X, Petro stated that Colombia would accept deported nationals only on civilian flights, emphasizing the need to treat people with “dignity and respect.” This follows a similar decision by Mexico, which last week declined a US request to allow military aircraft carrying deported migrants to land. “The U.S. cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals,” Petro wrote, pointing out that over 15,000 Americans reside in Colombia without proper immigration status.
On Saturday, the leftist Lula da Silva government of Brazil also condemned the “degrading treatment” of its citizens after a deportation flight reportedly restrained passengers with handcuffs. The flight, which carried 88 Brazilian nationals alongside US security personnel and crew, was redirected on arrival in Belo Horizonte, where Brazilian officials ordered that the cuffs be taken off. President da Silva later arranged for a Brazilian Air Force flight to complete the journey.
This flight marked the second deportation operation this year involving Brazilians and the first since Trump’s inauguration.
The Trump administration has utilized US military aircraft as part of its broader immigration enforcement measures, citing the president’s declaration of a national emergency on immigration. Similar methods have been used in the past, including during the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, to relocate individuals.
Officials from the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies have not yet responded to requests for comment.
This Story originally came from humanevents.com