(CLO) U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he would implement comprehensive retaliatory measures against Colombia, including tariffs and sanctions, after the South American nation refused two U.S. military planes carrying deported immigrants.
Colombia, the third-largest trading partner of the United States in Latin America, quickly retaliated by threatening to impose a 50% tariff on American goods.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Colombian President Gustavo Petro's refusal to allow flights endangered U.S. national security.
Retaliatory measures included imposing a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods imported into the U.S., a rate set to increase to 50% after a week; travel bans and visa revocations for Colombian government officials; and emergency sanctions targeting the treasury, banking, and financial sectors.
Migrants board a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for an evacuation flight at Fort Bliss, Texas, on January 23, 2025. Photo: U.S. Department of Defense
Mr. Trump said he would also direct increased border checks on Colombian citizens and goods. "These measures are just the beginning," he wrote. "We will not allow the Government of Colombia to violate its legal obligations regarding the acceptance and return of criminals they have forced into the United States!"
In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States "will no longer be deceived or taken advantage of," adding that President Petro had authorized the flights and provided all necessary permits but then revoked them while the planes were already in the air.
The US president had previously declared illegal immigration a national emergency and implemented a comprehensive crackdown since taking office last Monday. He directed the US military to assist with border security, issued a broad ban on asylum, and took steps to restrict citizenship rights for children born on US soil.
Colombian President Petro condemned the action on Sunday, saying it treated migrants like criminals. In a post on the social media platform X, he said Colombia would welcome deported migrants back home on civilian aircraft. "The U.S. cannot treat Colombian migrants like criminals," Petro wrote.
President Petro stated that although there were 15,660 Americans without legal immigration status in Colombia, he would never carry out a raid to return the handcuffed Americans to the United States. "We are opposed to Nazism," he wrote.
Last week, Mexico also refused a request to allow a U.S. military plane carrying migrants to land.
Trump did not take similar action against Mexico, the United States' largest trading partner, but has said he is considering imposing a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico on February 1 to force further action against illegal immigrants and fentanyl flowing into the U.S.
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the United States is Colombia's largest trading partner, largely thanks to the 2006 free trade agreement, with bilateral trade valued at $33.8 billion in 2023 and a rare U.S. trade surplus of $1.6 billion.
Hoang Hai (according to Truth Social, Reuters, CNBC)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/ong-trump-trung-phat-colombia-after-this-country-refused-to-refuse-deportation-flights-post332123.html
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