Colombian President Gustavo Petro welcomed “compatriots” who have been returned from the U.S. after a brief back-and-forth tussle between the countries, proclaiming that a “migrant is not a criminal.”
“Our compatriots come from the United States free, dignified, without being handcuffed. We structure a productive, associative and cheap credit plan for migrants,” Petro said in a Tuesday morning post on social platform X. “The migrant is not a criminal, he is a free human being.”
Over the weekend, the countries’ leadership appeared to be at a standoff as Petro declared that he would not allow the two American planes that were carrying Colombian migrants to land.
Trump responded shortly after on Sunday, threatening to slap a 25 percent tariff on goods coming into the U.S. from Latin American country and ban Colombian officials and their family members from traveling to America.
Colombia’s president said the country would impose their own 25 percent tariff on goods coming from the U.S. Later on Sunday, the White House confirmed that the two sides had come to an agreement as tensions were heightened over trade and immigration.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Colombia has agreed to Trump’s terms, “including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay.”
With Colombia accepting the repatriation flights, Trump did away with imposing tariffs.
Still, Colombian citizens looking to travel to the U.S. might have a hard time booking their trip. The U.S. Embassy in Bogota canceled visa appointments, telling prospective applicants that they have been axed “due to the Colombian government’s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian nationals.”
The nation’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Monday that the government dispatched a plane to bring back 110 deported citizens who were in San Diego.
“This is in order to guarantee respect for the rights of citizens and to carry out medical monitoring if necessary,” Colombia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said. “Another plane is expected to leave in the next few days with the same objective.”
Trump vowed on the campaign trail to carry out mass deportations for migrants who travel to the U.S. illegally. He has been swift since taking the oath of office last week to implement major policy items with a bevy of executive orders that seek to overhaul federal agencies, curb immigration and transform the military.
