Colombia backs down in face of Trump tariff threats over migrants deported on military planes
Trump threatened Colombia with 'decisive retaliatory measures' including tariffs and visa sanctions after Colombia denied entry to two U.S. flights on military planes carrying people who were allegedly living in the country without legal permission.
'The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump's terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Sunday.
In remarks in Spanish, Colombian Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said the country 'will continue to receive Colombians deported, guaranteeing them dignified conditions as citizens subject to rights.'
'The government, under the leadership of Gustavo Petro, has at its disposal the presidential plane to receive the Colombians that would have been deported today,' he said. 'Colombia reiterates that the diplomatic channels for interlocution will be open to maintain the rights, the national interest and the dignity of our citizens.'
The dispute followed Colombia's initial refusal on Sunday to accept military planes carrying immigrants, with Petro arguing that his country wanted to secure the arrival of immigrants in 'dignified conditions' using civilian aircraft.
The flights, carried out on U.S. military C-17 aircraft, each carried roughly 80 people.
'A migrant is not a criminal and should be treated with the dignity a human being deserves,' he wrote. 'We will receive our nationals in civilian airplanes, without treating them as criminals. Colombia must be respected.'
Trump then threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on Colombia for 'all goods' going to the U.S. In a week, those tariffs will be raised to 50 percent, the president claimed.
He added that a travel ban and visa revocations will be imposed on Colombian government officials, as well as 'all allies and supporters.'
Trump also said that 'visa sanctions' would be levied against 'all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government.'
The American president also promised that there would be 'Enhanced Customs and Border Protection Inspections of all Colombian Nationals and Cargo on national security grounds.'
'These measures are just the beginning,' he said. '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!
Petro had initially said that Colombia would not accept military deportation flights from the U.S. until the Trump White House sets up a process to treat Colombian migrants with 'dignity and respect.'
'I do not authorize the entry of North American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory,' Petro said on X. 'The U.S. must establish a protocol of dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them.'
Petro noted that Colombia had already turned away military flights with Colombian deportees.
'I cannot make migrants stay in a country that does not want them, but if that country sends them back, it should be with dignity and respect for them and for our country,' Petro added.
He said he would allow civilian planes carrying deportees to land in his country, but that he would block the arrival of military planes.
'We will receive our fellow citizens on civilian planes, without treating them like criminals,' Petro said.
According to the Pew Research Center, there were 190,000 unauthorized immigrants from Colombia living in the U.S. as of 2022.
The Trump administration is promising to deport millions of undocumented immigrants from the U.S., drawing scrutiny from Latin American leaders who have roundly criticized the president's treatment of immigrants.
The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also asked for an explanation for the 'degrading treatment' that 88 deportees were subjected to on a U.S. repatriation flight Friday.
Immigrants were discovered in handcuffs and chains and without any air conditioning, according to Brazilian officials.
Petro's response — and Trump's swift threats in retaliation — tested Colombia's relationship with its most important trading partner and security ally, with remittances to Colombia making up about 3.4 percent of the Colombian economy, and most of those remittances emanate from the U.S.
Petro, the first leftist Colombian president, is close to the presidents of Mexico and Brazil. He wrote on X that more than 15,600 U.S. citizens are living in Colombia without the correct documentation.
Even so, he said he would not raid them and send them back to the U.S. in chains, adding that his government is 'the opposite of Nazis.'
'You won't see me burning a U.S. flag,' he added.
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