<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><i class="">Disgusting</i>...</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/26/world/americas/colombia-us-deportation-flights.html" class="">https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/26/world/americas/colombia-us-deportation-flights.html</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><h1 class="e1h9rw200 css-1fyu99" data-testid="headline">Colombia Agrees to Accept Deportation Flights After Trump Threatens Tariffs</h1><p class="css-cb4rkw"><i class="">The
country’s leader, Gustavo Petro, backed down after a clash with
President Trump, which started when Mr. Petro turned back U.S. military
planes carrying deportees.</i></p></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Under threats
from President Trump that included steep tariffs, President Gustavo
Petro of Colombia has relented and will allow U.S. military planes to
fly deportees into the country, after turning two transports back in
response to what he called inhumane treatment.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The
two leaders had engaged in a war of words on Sunday after Colombia’s
move to block Mr. Trump’s use of military aircraft in deporting
thousands of unauthorized immigrants.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">But
on Sunday night, the White House released a statement in which it said
that because Mr. Petro had agreed to all of its terms, the tariffs and
sanctions Mr. Trump had threatened would be “held in reserve.” Other
penalties, such as visa sanctions, will remain in effect until the first
planeload of deportees has arrived in Colombia, the statement said. </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">“Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again,” it added. </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Colombia’s foreign ministry <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://x.com/CancilleriaCol/status/1883722303609127203" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">released a statement</a>
soon afterward that said “we have overcome the impasse with the United
States government.” It said the government would accept all deportation
flights and “guarantee dignified conditions” for those Colombians on
board.</p><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr. Petro began
the day by announcing that he had turned back U.S. military planes
carrying deported immigrants. This set off a furious back and forth with
Mr. Trump, who in turn announced a barrage of tariffs and sanctions
targeting the country, which has long been a top U.S. ally in Latin
America.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr. Trump <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113896070273857964" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a>
on social media that the United States would immediately impose a 25
percent tariff on all Colombian imports and would raise them to 50
percent after a week. The Trump administration would also “fully impose”
banking and financial sanctions on Colombia, apply a travel ban on
Colombian government officials and their associates, and revoke their
visas, the president said.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr. Petro hit back on social media. In one post, he announced retaliatory tariffs of <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://x.com/petrogustavo/status/1883627992150073761" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">25 percent</a> on U.S. imports to Colombia; in another, <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://x.com/petrogustavo/status/1883624818811236502" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">longer</a> post, he said those tariffs would hit 50 percent. </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Directly addressing Mr. Trump, Mr. Petro also questioned whether the American president was trying to topple him. </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">“You don’t like our freedom, fine,” Mr. Petro said. “I do not shake hands with white enslavers.”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The clash reflected how Mr. Trump was ready to make an example out of Colombia as countries <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/26/world/asia/india-illegal-immigration-trump.html" title="">around the world</a> grapple with how to prepare for the mass deportations of unauthorized immigrants that he has promised.</p><div class=""><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">“This looks like a
pretty bold and daring escalation on both sides,” said Will Freeman, a
fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations,
citing Colombia’s economic reliance on the United States, which is still
the South American country’s largest trading partner even as China has
been making inroads. </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">“But equally,
for Trump to threaten Colombia this way is pretty bold itself,” Mr.
Freeman added. “That’s because Colombia remains historically the longest
standing, the deepest, strategic ally in the region.” </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr.
Trump signed an executive order last week authorizing the U.S. military
to assist in securing the border, and the Department of Defense said it
would use military aircraft to deport people held in U.S. custody along
the southern border.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr. Petro said Sunday <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://x.com/petrogustavo/status/1883522921710158113" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">in a series of posts</a>
that Colombia would not accept military deportation flights from the
United States until the Trump administration provided a process to treat
Colombian migrants with “dignity and respect.”</p><div class=""><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">“I cannot make
migrants stay in a country that does not want them,” Mr. Petro wrote,
“but if that country sends them back, it should be with dignity and
respect for them and for our country.”</p><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">He said he was still open to receiving deportees on nonmilitary flights. </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.state.gov/ending-illegal-immigration-in-the-united-states/" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">statement</a>,
“Colombian President Petro had authorized flights and provided all
needed authorizations and then canceled his authorization when the
planes were in the air.” </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr. Petro’s
office said the presidential plane would be made available to transport
the migrants who had been scheduled to arrive on the military planes.
Representatives for Colombia’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately
respond to requests for comment.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The
immediate snag with the deportation flights appeared to be that U.S.
military planes were transporting the undocumented migrants, a U.S.
military official said on Sunday. </p></div><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The
two U.S. aircraft that were denied the ability to land in Colombia were
Air Force C-17 transport planes. One turned around and returned to San
Diego; the other flew back to Texas.</p><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr. Petro’s
remarks came in response to a post about the treatment of Brazilian
deportees. Brazil’s foreign ministry complained of “<a class="css-yywogo" href="https://x.com/ItamaratyGovBr/status/1883313955495645540" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">degrading treatment</a>”
of its citizens after 88 migrants arrived in the country handcuffed on
Friday and some complained of mistreatment after not being given water
or allowed to use the bathroom during the flight.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Since
taking office last Monday, Mr. Trump has issued a series of executive
orders and made other moves aimed at laying the groundwork to deport an
enormous number of migrants.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">In his
missive on social media, Mr. Trump called Mr. Petro, a former left-wing
guerrilla, a “socialist” — a term that Mr. Petro has <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.facebook.com/gustavopetrourrego/posts/943384344271623/" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">no problem in using</a>
to describe himself — and contended that Mr. Petro was “very
unpopular.” Mr. Petro’s approval ratings stand at around 34 percent, as
he has been weighed down by corruption scandals and a resurgence in
fighting among armed groups. </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">To
justify his measures targeting Colombia, Mr. Trump also claimed that the
military deportation flights refused landing by Mr. Petro included a
“large number of Illegal Criminals” and that the United States was
seeking the “return of the Criminals they forced into the United
States.”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The U.S. tariffs that Mr.
Trump had threatened would deal a significant blow to Colombia’s
economy. The United States is Colombia’s largest trading partner, with
top Colombian exports to the American market including crude oil, coffee
and cut flowers.</p><div class=""><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Trade between the
two countries totaled $53.5 billion in 2022, with the United States
having a trade surplus of $3.9 billion that year. Colombia is the <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/opportunities-us-agricultural-products-colombia" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">largest</a>
South American market for U.S. agricultural products, absorbing imports
of American pork, dairy products, alcoholic beverages, and dog and cat
food. </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr. Petro also cast attention
on Americans living in Colombia, saying that more than 15,000 Americans
were living in the country without authorization, and calling on them to
“regularize” their immigration status.</p><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Colombia is not
among the countries with the largest unauthorized immigrant populations
in the United States, trailing far behind Mexico, El Salvador, India,
Guatemala and Honduras. In 2022, Mexicans remained the most common
nationality among unauthorized immigrants in the United States, with
about 4 million, while Colombia had about 190,000, according to the most
recent data available from the Pew Research Center. </p></div><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Colombia
has traditionally been a close U.S. ally, though differences have
recently emerged regarding counternarcotics policies. While Mr. Petro
has criticized the United States more than past presidents, he continued
to collaborate with the United States and regularly accepted
deportation flights, said Sergio Guzmán, a Colombian political analyst.</p><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">This is what “makes this new approach so surprising,” Mr. Guzmán said earlier on Sunday.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr.
Petro, who took office in 2022, is Colombia’s first leftist president
and a longtime leader in Colombian politics known for his combative
stances, particularly when it comes to defending human rights.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">A
former rebel who later demobilized and became a senator, his critics
say he sometimes acts rashly and refuses to listen to advisers.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">He
has long been critical of the outsize power the United States holds in
the world, particularly of the economic imbalance between the U.S. and
other nations. </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The Trump
administration is sending the military planes in addition to the usual
flights operated by ICE, meaning that they do not replace the typical
flights that land several times a week in countries throughout the
region, and which Mr. Petro referred to in his online posts on Sunday as
“civilian” planes. </p></div><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The new planes sent by the military can only depart from the United States if the receiving nation has approved them.</p><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">It is unclear which countries may have agreed to receive military planes carrying deportees. </p></div><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Early on Friday, <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/us/politics/trump-us-guatemala-military-migrants.html" title="">Guatemala received two U.S. Air Force</a> jets carrying around 160 deportees in total, making it one of the first countries to publicly receive such flights. </p></div></div></div><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Officials in
Mexico, the source of the largest number of unauthorized immigrants in
the United States, have said that they remained open to receiving
deported citizens. Routine deportations have taken place to Mexican
cities along the U.S. border in recent days.</p><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Still,
Mexican authorities have not disclosed whether they plan to accept
military flights or whether they will receive deported migrants from
other countries, as Mexico has sometimes done in the past.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">On
Friday, NBC reported that Mexico had refused to authorize a military
plane carrying deportees from the U.S., an account that could not be
independently confirmed. </p></div></div></div></div></div></div><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Honduras, which like Colombia <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/us/honduras-china-trump-deportation.html" title="">has pushed back against</a>
the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations, has said that
it has not yet explicitly been asked by U.S. officials, but that it is
open to receiving military flights.</p> <br class=""></div></div><br class=""><div class="">
Arthur Stamoulis<br class="">Citizens Trade Campaign<br class="">(202) 494-8826<br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">
</div>
<br class=""></body></html>