Colombian President stops deportation flights from US, quickly changes his mind

Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, provided authorization for deportation flights into Colombia. A couple of U.S. military planes were on their way to return Colombian illegal aliens to Colombia. However, news of deportees arriving in Brazil, with restraints, contributed to Petro’s changing his mind. He removed authorization for their landing. In response, Donald Trump took to Truth Social and announced tariffs and other measures against Colombia. Petro responded with posts criticizing Donald Trump and the U.S. However, an agreement was reached and Colombia agreed to accept all deportation flights from the U.S.

From The New York Times:

Mr. Petro began the day by announcing that he had turned back U.S. military planes carrying deported immigrants. This set off a furious back and forth with Mr. Trump, who in turn announced a barrage of tariffs and sanctions targeting the country, which has long been a top U.S. ally in Latin America.

Mr. Trump said on social media that the United States would immediately impose a 25 percent tariff on all Colombian imports and would raise them to 50 percent after a week. The Trump administration would also “fully impose” banking and financial sanctions on Colombia, apply a travel ban on Colombian government officials and their associates, and revoke their visas, the president said.

Mr. Petro hit back on social media. In one post, he announced retaliatory tariffs of 25 percent on U.S. imports to Colombia; in another, longer post, he said those tariffs would hit 50 percent.

Directly addressing Mr. Trump, Mr. Petro also questioned whether the American president was trying to topple him.

“You don’t like our freedom, fine,” Mr. Petro said. “I do not shake hands with white enslavers.”

The clash reflected how Mr. Trump was ready to make an example out of Colombia as countries around the world grapple with how to prepare for the mass deportations of unauthorized immigrants that he has promised.

“This looks like a pretty bold and daring escalation on both sides,” said Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, citing Colombia’s economic reliance on the United States, which is still the South American country’s largest trading partner even as China has been making inroads.

“But equally, for Trump to threaten Colombia this way is pretty bold itself,” Mr. Freeman added. “That’s because Colombia remains historically the longest standing, the deepest, strategic ally in the region.”

Mr. Trump signed an executive order last week authorizing the U.S. military to assist in securing the border, and the Department of Defense said it would use military aircraft to deport people held in U.S. custody along the southern border.

Mr. Petro said Sunday in a series of posts that Colombia would not accept military deportation flights from the United States until the Trump administration provided a process to treat Colombian migrants with “dignity and respect.”

Additional Reading:

Glatsky, G., Romero, S., & Correal, A. Colombia Agrees to Accept Deportation Flights After Trump Threatens Tariffs. The New York Times. Link.

Category: Donald Trump, Illegal Immigrants, International Affairs