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Bogota must accept the “criminals they forced into the United States,” the US president has said
US President Donald Trump has said he will impose emergency tariffs on Colombia and sanction its officials after Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused to allow American planes carrying deported illegal immigrants to land in the country.
“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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social app on Sunday, adding that he has directed his administration to take “urgent and decisive retaliatory measures.”
Trump went on to explain that he will place a 25% emergency tariff on all Colombian goods entering the US, which will be doubled in a week. The US is Colombia’s largest trading partner, with around $12 billion worth of Colombian goods entering the US every year.
Trump said that all Colombian government officials along with their “allies and supporters” would have their visas revoked and be subject to a travel ban, while visa sanctions would be applied to all members of Petro’s left-wing Human Colombia party and their families.
Colombian visitors to the US will be subject to enhanced inspections by Customs and Border Protection agents, he continued, adding that financial sanctions will also be imposed on Bogota.
“These measures are just the beginning,” he concluded. “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!”
Earlier on Sunday, Petro said he would not allow any deportation flights to land in Colombia until the US guarantees the “dignified treatment” of deported migrants. Petro did not state what he meant by “dignified treatment.”
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been carrying out daily raids across the US since Trump took office on Monday, with 421 people detained for removal on Saturday alone, according to the agency. Cities targeted included Boston, New York, Newark, and San Francisco, and agents focused on arresting immigrants who had committed subsequent crimes after entering the US illegally, ICE said.
In a statement on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that “deportation flights have begun.” Two military aircraft carried 160 people to Guatemala that day, while another three flights to Guatemala and four flights to Mexico took off on Friday.
It is unclear how many Colombian nationals are currently awaiting deportation.