BOGOTA, COLOMBIA — U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday he was ordering tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures to be taken against Colombia after his government rejected two U.S. military flights carrying migrants. .
Trump said the measures were necessary because Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s decision “endangers” U.S. national security.
“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 forced criminals to the United States.”
Earlier on Sunday, Petrou said his government would not accept flights carrying deported migrants from the US unless the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with “dignity”. Petro made the announcement in two
“A migrant is not a criminal and should be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves,” Petro said. “That’s why I turned away US military planes carrying Colombian migrants.”
Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the United States from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, according to Witness on the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.
Last year, Colombia and other countries began accepting US-funded deportation flights from Panama.
The U.S. government did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press about the aircraft and protocols used in deportations to Colombia.
As of Sunday afternoon no official order had been issued that would allow for the implementation of the measures announced by Trump.
Colombians have emerged in recent years as a major presence on the U.S. border with Mexico, aided in part by a visa regime that allows them to easily fly to Mexico and avoid trekking, however treacherous. Darien Gap. They ranked fourth behind Mexicans, Guatemalans and Venezuelans with 127,604 arrests for illegal crossings during the 12-month period through September.
Mexico does not impose visa restrictions on Colombians, as they do on Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Peruvians.
Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, said his country would receive Colombians in “civilian airplanes” and “without treatment like criminals.” His government later announced in a statement that the South American country’s presidential plane had been made available to facilitate the return of migrants who were due to arrive hours earlier on US military airplanes and guarantee them “dignified conditions”. Used to give.
As part of a flurry of actions to make good on Trump’s campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his government will use the active-duty military to help secure the border and carry out deportations. Still working.
Two US Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying migrants touched down in Guatemala on Friday. The same day, Honduras received two deportation flights carrying a total of 193 people.
Announcing what he called “immediate and decisive retaliatory measures”, Trump reported that he ordered a “25% tariff on all goods coming into the United States”, which would be increased to 50% in a week. . He said he also ordered “a travel ban and immediate visa reimposition” on Colombian government officials, associates and supporters.
“All party members, family members and supporters of the Colombian government,” Trump wrote, will be subject to “visa restrictions.” He did not specify which party he was referring to or provide any additional details on visa and travel restrictions.
Trump said all Colombians would face increased customs inspections.