Colombia Reverses Deportation Decision After Trump’s Threats

Photo : Twitter

Colombia agreed to accept deported citizens sent by the US military after President Donald Trump threatened to impose high tariffs on the country for not following his deportation plans.

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Colombian President Gustavo Petro had said earlier that he would only accept the deported people on civilian flights, and he refused two US military planes carrying Colombians. In return, President Trump got very upset and warned that he would put tariffs starting at 25%, which would go up to 50%, on Colombia, a large economy in Latin America.

At first, Petro thought about imposing his own tariffs on US goods, but by Sunday night, he decided to back down. Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said that both countries had reached an agreement and that Colombia would now accept its citizens sent back from the US.

A White House statement confirmed that Colombia agreed to accept all deported people, even on US military planes, without any limits or delays.

Trump's statement said that these events show the world that the US is respected again and that he will keep protecting America's borders. He also expects other countries to work with the US and accept their deported citizens.

Trump then announced he would hold off on applying the tariffs.

This situation made people wonder how quickly Trump could actually apply the tariffs on Colombia, a close ally of the US. Colombia has a trade agreement with the US, and it has always had good relations with Washington. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, suspended visa processing at the US embassy in Colombia. He also said that the visas of Colombian officials and their families would be canceled. These measures would remain until the first group of deported Colombians returned.

Trump also promised to be stricter on Colombians traveling to the US and said they would face more checks at the airports.

Trump had promised during his campaign that he would work hard to deport people who are in the US illegally. Some countries, like Guatemala, accept US deportation flights, but President Petro, a left-wing leader elected in 2022, did not want US military planes to send Colombians back. Petro believed it was wrong to treat them like criminals.

Instead, Petro offered to send his own plane to bring back the deported citizens with more respect.

Petro also pointed out that there are about 15,600 undocumented Americans living in Colombia and asked them to “make things right” and follow the rules, but he said he would not send police to arrest or deport them.

Petro’s refusal to accept the deported people upset many people, including former Colombian President Ivan Duque. Duque said it was a big mistake not to take back the deported Colombians and warned that the US sanctions would hurt Colombia's economy a lot.

The President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, called for a meeting of Latin American leaders to talk about migration after the latest actions by the US.

Even though deportations have been happening for years, this is the first time the US is using military planes for this. One plane recently landed in Guatemala as part of the process.