US President Donald Trump wrote on the social network Truth Social on January 26 that Colombian President Gustavo Petro's refusal to accept flights endangered US national security, Reuters reported.
Retaliatory measures include imposing a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods imported into the United States, which will increase to 50% in a week; imposing a travel ban and revoking visas for Colombian government officials; and imposing emergency treasury, banking, and financial sanctions.
Mr. Trump said that he would also personally increase border checks on Colombian citizens and goods. "These measures are just the beginning," Mr. Donald Trump warned.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed that President Petro authorized flights carrying deported migrants, issued all necessary permits, but then revoked the permits while the planes were in the air.
Colombian President Petro also responded on social media X about the deportation of migrants. Mr. Petro said that Colombia would welcome the deported migrants back to their country by civilian aircraft.
“The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants like criminals,” Petro wrote. He added that despite the 15,660 Americans without legal immigration status in Colombia, he would never raid, handcuff or send Americans home.
According to the US State Department, the US is Colombia's largest trading and investment partner, and Colombia is also the US's third largest trading partner in Latin America. Alejo Czerwonko - Chief Investment Officer for Emerging Markets Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management - pointed out that Colombia depends on the US market, accounting for one-third of its exports, equivalent to about 4% of Colombia's GDP.
Colombia is the second Latin American country to reject military flights to deport migrants from the U.S. On January 25, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry condemned the “mistreatment” of Brazilians as migrants were handcuffed on a commercial deportation flight.
The plane, carrying 88 Brazilian passengers, 16 US security personnel and eight crew members, was originally scheduled to arrive in Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
However, at an unscheduled stop due to technical problems in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas, Brazilian officials ordered the handcuffs removed and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva assigned a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) flight to take the migrants to their destination.
According to Brazil, this commercial charter flight is the second flight carrying undocumented migrants to be deported back to Brazil from the US and the first flight since President Trump took office.
