Trump slaps sanctions on Colombia for refusing to allow the return of migrants on U.S. military aircraft

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he is imposing retaliatory measures on Colombia including tariffs, sanctions and travel bans after the South American country turned away two U.S. military aircraft with migrants being deported as part of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro

Trump said the action by Colombian President Gustavo Petro jeopardized U.S. national security and he has directed his administration to take retaliatory measures.

In a message posted on social media, Trump said 25% tariffs would be applied to all Colombian goods entering the U.S. effective immediately. “This will rise to 50% in a week if the Colombian government does not accept our flights,” he added.

In response, Petro instructed his trade ministry to impose a 25% tariff on imports from the U.S.

Following Trump’s post, Colombia announced it will send aircraft to Honduras to pick up Colombian migrants dropped off in that country after its refusal to grant landing rights to U.S. military planes.

Petro said he 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 in from deportation flights,” read a statement released on Sunday.

Colombia’s refusal to accept flights is the second case of a Latin American nation refusing U.S. military deportation flights.

Petro condemned the practice, suggesting it treated migrants like criminals. In a post on social media platform X, Petro said Colombia would welcome home deported migrants on civilian planes, saying they should be treated with dignity and respect.

Colombia’s decision follows one by Mexico, which also refused a request last week to let a U.S. military aircraft land with migrants.

“The U.S. cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals,” Petro wrote, noting that there were 15,660 Americans without proper immigration status in Colombia.

Petro’s comments add to the growing chorus of discontent in Latin America as Trump’s week-old administration starts mobilizing for mass deportations.

Brazil’s foreign ministry late on Saturday condemned “degrading treatment” of Brazilians after migrants were handcuffed on a commercial deportation flight. Upon arrival, some of the passengers also reported mistreatment during the flight, according to local news reports.

There, Brazilian officials ordered the removal of the handcuffs, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva designated a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) flight to complete their journey, the government said in a statement Saturday.

The commercial charter flight was the second this year from the U.S. carrying undocumented migrants deported back to Brazil and the first since Trump’s inauguration, according to Brazil’s federal police.

Officials from the U.S. State Department, Pentagon, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The use of U.S. military aircraft to carry out deportation flights is part of the Pentagon’s response to Trump’s national emergency declaration on immigration on Monday.

In the past, U.S. military aircraft have been used to relocate individuals from one country to another, like during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

This has been the first time in recent memory that U.S. military aircraft were used to fly migrants out of the country, one U.S. official said.

U.S. military aircraft carried out two similar flights, each with about 80 migrants, to Guatemala on Friday.

It was unclear Sunday night if Colombia’s plan to pick up its migrants in Honduras will affect the U.S. sanctions announced by Trump.
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Credit: Reuters