Donald Trump says he will retaliate with “urgent and decisive” measures after Colombia turned away two US military planes carrying deported migrants.
The US leader said Colombian president Gustavo Petro’s action “jeopardised the national security and public safety of the United States” in a statement on Truth Social.
The retaliatory measures include 25% emergency tariffs on Colombian goods, a travel ban and visa sanctions on members and supporters of the Colombian government and enhanced border inspections on all Colombian nationals and cargo.
Existing financial sanctions will also be fully imposed, according to Mr Trump and in one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%.
“These measures are just the beginning,” the president wrote.
“We will 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!”
His post was quickly followed by an AI-generated image showing the president in a fedora hat, alongside a sign reading FAFO, which usually stands for “f**k around, find out”.
President Petro said Colombia would welcome home deported migrants if they came on civilian planes, saying they should be treated with dignity and respect.
Image: Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro. File pic: AP
“The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals,” Mr Petro wrote on X, noting that there were 15,660 Americans without proper immigration status in Colombia.
Colombia’s decision follows a similar one by Mexico, which refused a request to let a US military aircraft land with migrants on Thursday.
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Migrants: ‘Door was slammed in our face’
It was then confirmed to Sky’s partner newsroom NBC that four deportation flights accepted by Mexico on Thursday were government-chartered flights, not military aircraft.
There is growing discontent in South American countries as Mr Trump’s week-old administration begins mass deportations.
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On Saturday, Brazil’s foreign ministry condemned the “degrading treatment” of Brazilians after migrants were handcuffed on a commercial deportation flight.
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Brazilian officials ordered the removal of the handcuffs when the plane landed and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva designated a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) flight to complete their journey, the government said in a statement on Saturday.
Using military aircraft to carry out deportation flights is a response to Mr Trump’s national emergency declaration on immigration on Monday.
Although US military aircraft have been used in emergencies like the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, this is the first time in recent memory they’ve been used to fly migrants out of the country, one US official said.
Military aircraft carried out two similar flights, each with about 80 migrants, to Guatemala on Friday.
US officials did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Source : Sky News
