Trump orders sanctions on Colombia after Petro blocks deportation flights

US President Donald Trump has said he will impose 25 percent tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after the Latin American country refused to let two United States military aircraft carrying deported migrants land on its territory.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said on Sunday he turned the flights back because the migrants were not treated with “dignity.”

In response, Trump ordered tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures to be taken against Colombia.

He said the US would impose a travel ban and "immediate visa revocations" on Colombian government officials, as well as its allies and supporters.

He added the tariffs "on all goods" coming into the US from Colombia would be imposed "immediately," and in one week the 25 percent tariffs would be raised to 50 percent.

Trump claimed he imposed the measures because Petro's decision “jeopardized” national security in the US.

Trump also said there would be enhanced Customs and Border Protection inspections "of all Colombian nationals and cargo on national security grounds."

"These measures are just the beginning," Trump added.

He went on to say that his administration would not allow the Colombian government "to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into 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 concerning the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States.”

Petro responded by saying he would impose 50 percent tariffs on the US.

Petro said that his government wouldn’t accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with "dignity and respect."

Petro published a post on X which included a news video of migrants deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.

“A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves,” Petro said. “That is why I returned the US military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants.”

‘Largest deportation in history’: US arrests, deports hundreds of immigrants under Trump

The has revealed that during the first week of Trump

One of Trump's main campaign promises during the 2024 presidential election was curbing undocumented immigration into America.

According to a US House report, during the four years of the Biden administration, more than 8 million undocumented migrants have entered the United States, with 6.7 million entering through the southern border.

Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the United States from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.

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