Washington, DC [US], January 27 (ANI): The White House has said that Colombia has agreed to accept repatriated migrants back to the country after two US military aircraft carrying deportees were blocked by Colombia early on Sunday, resulting in several tariff threats between US President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro, CNN reported.
After Petro disallow military planes from landing, stating the US “can’t treat Colombian migrants like criminals,” Trump ordered “emergency 25 per cent tariffs” on all imports from Colombia would be increased to 50 per cent in a week, a “travel ban” for Colombian citizens, and a revocation of visas for Colombian officials in the US.
In a post shared on TruthSocial, Trump wrote, “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!”
After Trump’s announcement, Petro threatened to impose a 25 per cent retaliatory tariff rise on the US in a series of social media posts targeting Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Colombian President said that he was against the use of military planes and the treatment of migrants. However, he left the door open to Colombia accepting repatriated migrants travelling on civilian planes, CNN reported.
Late on Sunday evening, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the US and Colombia had agreed to the “unrestricted acceptance” of migrants from Colombia and would allow them to enter the country “including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay.”
In the statement, Leavitt said that US would not sign the tariffs or economic sanctions Trump ordered “unless Colombia fails to honour this agreement.” She announced that tariffs and financial sanctions will be halted. However, she announced that visa sanctions against Colombian officials and stricter customs inspections of Colombian nationals and cargo ships ordered by Trump on Sunday will remain in effect “until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.”
Just moments after the White House’s statement, Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said that US deportation flights have resumed. The trade threats mark the first time Trump took a major action against another country over his immigration policy since assuming office on January 20.
In a statement on Sunday afternoon, Rubio announced that Colombian officials had approved two military aircrafts carrying migrants to Colombia and then revoked the order after the planes were on their way.
Rubio said, “Colombian President Petro had authorised flights and provided all needed authorisations and then cancelled his authorisation when the planes were in the air. As demonstrated by today’s actions, we are unwavering in our commitment to end illegal immigration and bolster America’s border security.”
Following Rubio’s statement, Petro took to X to dispute that he had given permission. He stated, “I will never allow Colombians to be brought in handcuffs on flights. Marco, if officials from the Foreign Ministry allowed this, it would never be under my direction.”
He even called on US citizens residing in Colombia illegally to “regularise” their stay, without mentioning further details. In a post on X, he wrote, “American citizens who wish to do so can be in Colombia, I believe in human freedom.” Petro added, “You will never see me burning a US flag or carrying out a raid to return handcuffed illegal immigrants to the US.”
It was earlier reported that US officials were surprised and frustrated after Petro said he was blocking US deportation flights from entering Colombia. The US State Department said the US Embassy in Bogota had suspended visa processing in retaliation for Colombia’s refusal to accept repatriation flights.
The suspension is applicable to immigrant and non-immigrant visas, which usually are in thousands each day. According to the statement, Rubio also approved “travel sanctions on individuals and their families, who were responsible for the interference of US repatriation flight operations.”
Last week, the US started using military planes to carry border crossers back to their countries of origin. On Thursday, US used military planes to carry migrants to Guatemala. White House border czar Tom Homan said on Sunday he expects military planes carrying deported migrants to continue everyday, partly as a message to other nations.
Speaking to ABC News, Homan said that the US Department of Defence “has helped administrations before, but not at this level. So it’s a force multiplier, and it’s sending a strong signal to the world. Our border’s closed.”
The US is also calling on Mexico to help in repatriating its nationals through land ports of entry along the US-Mexico border; although, Mexico also seemed to turn around a military flight flying to the country last week.
Brazil also criticised Trump administration’s handling of repatriated migrants on deportation flights, calling the treatment of Brazilian nationals who arrived in the country on Friday “degrading.”
Brazilian authorities said that they found 88 handcuffed deportees on a US flight travelling to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, that arrived in Manaus due to a “technical error,” CNN reported. Brazilian officials did not approve the aircraft to continue due to “the use of handcuffs and chains, the poor condition of the aircraft, with a faulty air conditioning system, among other problems,” and the migrants were taken to Manaus on a Brazilian Air Force flight. (ANI)
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed of ANI; only the image & headline may have been reworked by News Services Division of World News Network Inc Ltd and Palghar News and Pune News and World News
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