After Colombian President Gustavo Petro turned back two US military planes carrying returning Colombians, US President Donald Trump had earlier threatened 25% fines.
President Donald Trump promised severe tariffs to punish resistance of his mass deportation plans, but Colombia backed down on Sunday and agreed to accept deported citizens sent on US military aircraft.
Gustavo Petro, the left-leaning president of Colombia, had previously declared that he would only return civilians “with dignity,” that is, on civilian airplanes, and he had turned back two US military flights carrying Colombians who had been repatriated.
Less than a week after taking office, Trump reacted angrily, threatening to impose 25 percent sanctions on the fourth-largest economy in Latin America, which would swiftly escalate to 50 percent.
At the beginning of the turbulent Sunday, Petro tried to retaliate by imposing his own taxes on US goods, but he eventually changed his mind.
At a late-night press conference, Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo declared that his nation had “overcome the impasse” and would welcome those who had returned.
According to a White House statement, Colombia has consented to “unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay.”
“Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again,” it read.
“President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation’s sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States.”
Trump declared he would halt the tariffs’ implementation.
Even previously, it had been uncertain how swiftly Trump might put tariffs on Colombia, which has a free-trade deal with the United States and has long been one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America.
The US embassy in Bogota banned the granting of visas for Colombian government leaders and their immediate family members, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose wife is Colombian-American.
The visa restrictions will remain in effect until the first planeload of deportees returns, according to the White House.
Additionally, Trump pledged to increase screening of Colombians at US airports.
