Colombia backs down on deportation flights after Trump tariffs threat

A looming commerce battle between the US and Colombia seems to have been averted after the Colombian authorities agreed to permit US navy flights carrying deported migrants to land within the Andean nation.

The spat erupted on Sunday when President Gustavo Petro barred two navy planes carrying Colombians deported from the US from touchdown.

The Trump administration responded by threatening to slap punitive tariffs on Colombian exports to the US.

President Petro at first mentioned Colombia would retaliate by imposing tariffs on US items, however the White Home later introduced that Colombia had agreed to simply accept migrants – together with these arriving on US navy plane – “with out limitation or delay”.

The White Home hailed the settlement with Colombia as a victory for Trump’s hard-line method, after the nations’ two leaders had exchanged threats on social media on Sunday.

“Right now’s occasions clarify to the world that America is revered once more,” White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a press release.

She added that the tariffs and sanctions which the Trump administration had threatened to impose on Colombia, ought to it not comply, could be “held in reserve, and never signed, except Colombia fails to honour this settlement”.

She additionally mentioned that President Donald Trump “expects all different nations of the world to completely co-operate in accepting deportation of their residents illegally current in america”.

A cornerstone of Trump’s immigration coverage is eradicating illegal migrants from the US, with the promise of “mass deportations”.

The row between Colombia’s left-wing president and Trump escalated quickly on Sunday.

Petro, a eager consumer of social media, posted on X that he had “barred US planes carrying Colombian migrants from coming into our territory” as a result of “the US cannot deal with Colombian migrants like criminals”.

He demanded that the US put procedures in place for migrants to be “handled with dignity”.

He additionally mentioned he was able to ship the presidential aircraft to the US to move the migrants.

Colombia has accepted deportation flights from the US prior to now. In 2024, 124 planes carrying deported migrants from the US landed within the nation.

However President Petro appeared to object to the return of deportees on navy slightly than civilian flights – and to the way in which the migrants could also be handled on these navy flights.

In his posts on X, Petro referenced a information video displaying migrants deported from the US to Brazil, who had been handcuffed and had their ft restrained in the course of the deportation flight.

He mentioned that he would “by no means permit Colombians to be returned handcuffed on flights”.

Petro’s refusal to let two US navy planes carrying Colombian deportees to land triggered a fast response by Trump on Reality Social.

“I used to be simply knowledgeable that two repatriation flights from america, with numerous Unlawful Criminals, weren’t allowed to land in Colombia. This order was given by Colombia’s Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who’s already very unpopular amongst his individuals,” he wrote.

Trump argued that Petro’s denial of those flights had jeopardised the nationwide safety and public security of the US.

He mentioned he had directed his administration to “instantly” impose 25% tariffs on all Colombian items coming into the US, which he mentioned could be raised to 50% if Colombia didn’t comply inside per week.

He additionally mentioned he had imposed a journey ban and revoked the visas of Colombian authorities officers “and all allies and supporters”.

In his put up, he warned that “these measures are just the start”.

Petro responded on X with an extended, rambling however finally defiant put up by which he mentioned he would match any US-imposed tariffs.

“Your blockade doesn’t scare me, as a result of Colombia, in addition to being the nation of magnificence, is the center of the world,” he wrote.

In the meantime, members of Petro’s administration labored behind the scenes to defuse the row.

In a late-night information convention, Overseas Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo introduced that the 2 nations had “overcome the deadlock” and that Colombia would settle for returned residents.

Whereas Murillo didn’t immediately confer with the White Home assertion, in accordance with which Colombia had agreed to permit US navy flights to take the deportees again, he didn’t deny it both.

The international minister reiterated Colombia’s provide to ship its presidential aircraft to the US to move the deportees.

Whereas the Colombian concession appears to have averted the looming commerce battle, the US has mentioned that visa restrictions on Colombian authorities officers would keep in place till the primary planeload of deportees landed in Colombia.

Colombians arriving at US airports can even endure higher scrutiny beneath the measures imposed on Sunday, the Trump administration mentioned.

Colombia’s international minister mentioned he would journey to Washington “within the coming days” for high-level conferences with administration officers.

The row marks a low level in relations between the 2 nations, which traditionally have been allies and co-operated intently within the struggle in opposition to drug trafficking, with the US offering billions of {dollars} in navy support and coaching to Colombia’s safety forces.

Punitive tariffs akin to these threatened by Trump and Petro would have harm each Colombian producers and US customers.

Commerce between the 2 nations was price $53.5bn (£42.8bn) in 2022, in accordance with the US Workplace of the US Commerce Consultant.

Colombia’s fundamental exports to the US are oil, espresso and reduce flowers.

Democrat Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urged People to “keep in mind: we pay the tariffs, not Colombia”.

“Trump is about to make each American pay much more for espresso,” she wrote earlier than the tariffs had been suspended.

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