policy
Bogota, Colombia (AP) — The United States and Colombia, long close partners in anti-narcotics efforts, clashed Sunday over the deportation of migrants and imposed sanctions on one another's goods in a show of what countries face after they enter the Trump could intervene within the administration's crackdown on illegal immigration.
Presidents Donald Trump and Gustavo Petro defended their views on migration in a series of social media posts, with the latter accusing Trump of failing to treat immigrants with dignity during deportations and of retaliating by imposing 25% of Colombia's tariffs on U.S. goods cause.
Previously, the US president had ordered visa restrictions, 25% tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, increasing to 50% in per week, and other retaliatory measures triggered by Petro's decision to reject two US military planes carrying migrants certain in Colombia.
Trump said the measures were obligatory because Petro's decision “endangered” national security within the United States
“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations regarding the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States.”
Later on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he was approving the visa restrictions on Colombian government officials and their families “who were accountable for interfering with U.S. repatriation operations. They were imposed along with the State Department's move to curb the Suspend visa processing on the US embassy within the Colombian capital Bogota.
The restrictions will proceed, Rubio said, “until Colombia fulfills its obligations to accept the return of its own citizens.”
Earlier within the day, Petro said his administration wouldn’t accept flights carrying migrants being deported from the United States until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with “dignity.” Petro made the announcement in two X-posts, certainly one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly being deported to Brazil walking on asphalt with restrictions on their hands and feet.
“A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity a human being deserves,” Petro said. “That's why I returned the US military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants… in civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens.”
Following Trump's announcement, Petro said in a post on
Colombia has traditionally been the US's top ally in Latin America. But their relationship has strained since Petro, a former guerrilla, became Colombia's first leftist president in 2022 and sought distance from the United States
Colombia hosted 475 deportation flights from the U.S. from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, in keeping with Witnesses on the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.
Colombia can also be among the many countries that began accepting prescribed deportation flights from Panama last 12 months.
The U.S. government didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from the Associated Press about aircraft and protocols utilized in deportations to Colombia.
“This is a clear message we are sending that countries are committed to accepting repatriation flights,” a senior administration official told the AP. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to debate the problems publicly.
Rubio said in an announcement that Petro “cancelled” his approval for the flights while the plane was within the air.
Colombians have emerged in recent times as a big presence on the U.S. border with Mexico, helped partially by a visa regime that enables them to simply fly into Mexico and avoid trekking through the treacherous Darien Gap. They made 127,604 arrests for illegal crossings during a 12-month period ending in September, including Mexicans, Guatemalans and Venezuelans.
Mexico has not imposed visa restrictions on Colombians because it has imposed on Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Peruvians.
Petro's government said in an announcement later that the South American country's presidential plane had been made available to facilitate the return of migrants who arrived hours earlier on US military planes, guaranteeing them “dignified conditions.”
As a part of a flurry of moves by Trump's campaign to vow to crack down on illegal immigration, his administration is using active-duty military to secure the border and perform deportations.
Two U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying migrants faraway from the U.S. touched down in Guatemala early Friday. On the identical day, Honduras received two deportation flights with a complete of 193 people.
As he announced what he called “urgent and decisive retaliatory measures,” Trump explained that he was ordering the tariffs and “a travel ban and immediate visa revocation” for Colombian government officials, allies and supporters.
“All party members, family members and supporters of the Colombian government,” Trump wrote, “visa sanctions.” He didn’t say which party he was referring to or provide additional details on visa and travel restrictions.
Trump added that each one Colombians will face enhanced customs inspections.
Trump's actions appear to undermine his goal of reducing his country's trade deficit. Unlike Mexico or China, Colombia is certainly one of the few countries with a trade deficit with the United States of around $1.4 billion, in keeping with U.S. trade data.
According to the U.S. Grains Council, Colombia is the U.S.'s second-largest buyer of corn and corn feed, boosting U.S. commodity exports from farm belt states like Iowa, Indiana and Nebraska to greater than $733 million last 12 months.
The U.S. export boom has been driven by a two-decade-old free trade agreement between the 2 countries, which have long been close partners within the war on drugs. It is unclear whether Trump's tariffs are allowed under the deal, which incorporates a dispute mechanism to resolve trade disputes.
Colombia is the U.S.'s fourth-largest overseas crude oil supplier, shipping about 209,000 barrels of oil per day last 12 months, although booming domestic production has reduced U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The South American country can also be the most important supplier of fresh-cut flowers within the United States.
___
Regina Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela. Jill Colvin in New York, Joshua Goodman in Miami and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.
image credit : www.boston.com