President Donald Trump vowed to apply broad retaliatory measures against Colombia, including tariffs and visa bans, after the country refused admission to two U.S. military deportation planes. The White House announced on Sunday that Colombia has agreed to all of Trump’s demands.
In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “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.”
According to Leavitt, Trump’s recommended tariff and sanction measures “will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement.”
Visa restrictions and “enhanced inspections” by U.S. Customs and Border Protection are among the other measures that were announced earlier on Sunday and “will remain in effect until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.”
In remarks given in Spanish, Colombia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo stated that the nation will continue to accept deported Colombians and ensure that they are treated with dignity as citizens with rights.
During the brief webcast, he added, “The presidential plane is available to the government, led by Gustavo Petro, to receive the Colombians who would have been deported today.” Colombia reaffirms that in order to protect our citizens’ rights, national interest, and dignity, diplomatic avenues for communication will remain open.
Trump threatened punitive tariffs and other measures after Colombia refused to allow deportation flights from the United States to enter earlier on Sunday, starting the crisis.
“These actions are only the first steps. Regarding the reception and repatriation of the criminals they pushed into the United States, we will not permit the Colombian government to flout its legal duties.” Earlier on Sunday, Trump posted on Truth Social.
NBC News had received confirmation from the Defense Department and Department of Homeland Security officials that the planes had been rejected.
The defense official told NBC News that the flights, which were conducted on U.S. military C-17 aircraft, left California with roughly 80 Colombian migrants apiece.
As the U.S. accuses Colombia of failing to accept deported nationals, Trump responded on Truth Social by announcing broad retaliatory measures that include enhanced customs inspections, financial penalties, visa sanctions on government officials and allies, and tariffs on Colombian imports.
In his letter, Trump defended the actions by claiming that “Petro’s denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States.”
The duties on Colombian imports, he continued, will begin at 25% on all commodities and increase to 50% within a week.
Trump also wrote, “Visa Sanctions on all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government,” along with “A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on the Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters.”
Trump’s actions “do not scare me,” Petro retorted, adding that Colombia is not anyone’s colony. He instructed Colombia’s foreign trade minister to target “the whole world other than the U.S.” for exports and to increase import duties on U.S. imports by 25%.
He went on to say that the government will allegedly assist in replacing American items whose prices would rise in the national economy with domestically manufactured ones.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative estimates that $53.5 billion worth of goods and services will be traded between the United States and Colombia in 2022, with exports slightly outpacing imports in value.
Oils and minerals, lime and cement, and agricultural products accounted for more than 40% of U.S. imports from Colombia in recent years, while agricultural products accounted for more than 26% of imports, according to the Bureau of Industry and Security.
The official claimed that after Petro abruptly rescinded all diplomatic clearances for the flights, which had been cleared for landing, they were grounded.
Later, in a statement, Petro’s administration said that the government was emphasizing “dignified conditions” for the migrants, not because he did not want to make it easier for Colombians to return to their homeland.
“The Government of Colombia, under the leadership of President Gustavo Petro, has arranged for the presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of Colombian nationals who were to arrive in the country today in the morning hours, coming from deportation flights,” said the statement.
It further stated: “The government’s pledge to ensure dignified conditions is reflected in this policy. Colombians have never been or will never be exiled from Colombian land since they are patriots and citizens with rights.
Stay tuned for real-time updates.
Tensions were raised and deportation plans were thwarted last week when Mexico temporarily prevented two American planes carrying 80 passengers each from landing. Mexican officials have voiced their opposition to the United States’ unilateral immigration policy moves, even though the matter has been handled.
Petro denounced the use of military aircraft for deportations in a statement on X.
He wrote that a migrant should be treated with the respect that every human being is entitled to because they are not criminals. Without treating them like criminals, we will transport our citizens in private aircraft. Colombia has to be respected.
Citing the use of handcuffs, a malfunctioning air conditioner, and other infractions of a bilateral agreement that guarantees humane treatment, the Brazilian government denounced what it called the degrading treatment of its citizens who were on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement repatriation flight on Friday.
The Guatemalan Migration Institute reports that around 265 deported citizens were transported to Guatemala on three flights from the United States on Friday, including two aboard military planes.
The flights are a component of the Trump administration’s anti-illegal immigration campaign, which was started in his first week in office with executive orders. The government has sent 1,500 more troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to bolster enforcement in addition to deportation activities.