Photo: Alamy
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro will now send his own presidential plane to receive illegal immigrants being deported by the United States, walking back his previous actions preventing said deportations.
The move came almost immediately after President Donald Trump ordered tariffs, visa restrictions and sanctions against the country when Petro previously refused to accept the deportation flights into Colombia.
President Trump soon responded to Colombia’s refusal, writing via a post to Truth Social that his administration would be taking “urgent and decisive retaliatory measures” against the country.
“I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia,” wrote the president. “This order was given by Colombia’s Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people.”
Among his retaliatory measures, President Trump ordered 25 percent tariffs on all Colombian goods being imported into the U.S., which he explained would be raised to 50 percent just one week later.
He also called for a new travel ban and immediate visa revocations on Colombian officials, allies, and supporters, ordered visa sanctions on party members, their families and supporters, and enhanced border protection inspections on all cargo and Colombian nationals.
“These measures are just the beginning. 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!” President Trump wrote.
Responding to these measures, the Colombian government released a statement to the public promising the presidential plane to assist with the deportations, promising to maintain a “dignified return.”
“The Government of Colombia, under the direction of President Gustavo Petro, has arranged the presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were going to arrive in the country today in the morning, coming from deportation flights,” the translated statement described.
