Trump Orders 25% Tariffs on Colombian Exports to USA
for rejecting two military deportation flights
Colombian President Gustavo Petro demanded dignified treatment for migrants and offered the presidential plane to transport them.
HAVANA TIMES – US President Donald Trump ordered on Sunday, January 26, 2025, to impose a 25% tariff on all Colombian products after his counterpart in the Latin American country, Gustavo Petro, refused to accept two flights of deported nationals from the US.
“Petro’s refusal of these flights has endangered the national and public security of the United States… In one week, the 25% tariffs will rise to 50%,” said Trump in a post on his social media network, where he also announced other “urgent and decisive retaliatory measures” against Colombia.
The new Trump administration indicated that deportations of undocumented migrants to their countries of origin had “begun,” but Petro rejected the transfer of these individuals to Colombia, believing they were not receiving “dignified” treatment.
According to the words of the US president in his latest post, among the individuals to be deported to Colombia were “a large number of criminals.”
In this regard, referring to issues of “national security,” he expressed that they would reinforce customs inspection and border protection against “shipments of Colombian products.”
Furthermore, Trump referred to Petro as “the socialist president of Colombia” who “is already very unpopular among his people.”
Sanctions on Petro’s government and retaliation against his inner circle
Other orders imposed by Trump this Sunday against the Colombian government include “a travel ban and the immediate revocation of visas for Colombian government officials and all their allies and supporters.”
Additionally, visa sanctions were imposed on all members of the party (Colombia Humana), as well as their families and sympathizers.
However, Trump did not mention a potential closure of the US Embassy’s visa section in Colombia, which some local Colombian media had reported on Sunday.
“These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations regarding the acceptance and return of criminals who forced their way into the United States!” concluded Trump in his post.
For his part, Petro had stated that he would not allow planes carrying deported US citizens to enter the country if they did not receive dignified treatment.
“The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I deny authorization to the entry of US planes with Colombian migrants into our territory. The US must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we accept them,” Petro said on his social media.
Petro had previously criticized some of Trump’s decisions or policies and, on Tuesday, January 22, 2025, called the comment made by the US president about Latin America “dangerous,” where Trump said, “We don’t need them.”
The differences between the US and Colombia, with whom the agreement to send these two deportation flights with Colombian deportees had been made, also extend to other Latin American countries that have disapproved of the procedures that, according to Trump, will be “the largest mass deportation operation in US history.”
Petro Offered the Presidential Plane
Petro made the presidential plane available for the “dignified return” of migrants and called for a meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) to address the migration crisis.
The presidency detailed in a statement that Petro “has made the presidential plane available to facilitate the dignified return of nationals who were scheduled to arrive in the country today in the morning, coming from deportation flights.”
“This measure responds to the government’s commitment to guarantee dignified conditions. Under no circumstances will Colombians, as patriots and rights holders, be or will they ever be exiled from Colombian territory,” added the statement.
The Brazilian government denounced on Saturday, January 25, 2025, the use of handcuffs by US authorities on citizens of that country during a deportation flight.
Celac Meeting
According to the presidency, the Celac meeting will take place on January 30 and “will be an opportunity to address strategic issues for the region, such as cooperation on migration, the protection of human rights, and strengthening relationships among member countries.”
“I request the current president of Celac, Iris Xiomara Castro (president of Honduras), to call for an extraordinary assembly of presidents,” Petro wrote on social media.
He added, “If they don’t want us in the north, the south must unite.”
Colombia will hold the pro tempore presidency of Celac this year and will also host the IV Celac-European Union Summit in Bogotá, bringing together 60 heads of state and government from both regions in the second half of the year.