Donald Trump orders sanctions after Colombia refused to accept deportation flights

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he has ordered emergency tariffs on Colombian goods and an immediate ban on the entry of Colombian officials after Colombia refused to receive two flights carrying migrants deported from the United States. President Trump announced this on his "Truth Social" platform on Sunday, stating that Colombian President Gustavo Petro's decision "endangered" U.S. national security.

President Trump wrote in his post, "These measures are just the beginning." He also stated, "We will never allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations in receiving and repatriating criminals they have forcibly sent into the United States." President Trump announced that he has ordered a 25% emergency tariff on Colombian goods entering the United States, with the rate increasing to 50% within a week.

Additionally, President Trump announced a "travel ban and immediate visa revocation" for Colombian government officials and all their allies and supporters, along with visa sanctions for members of the Colombian government's political party and their families and supporters. He also stated that customs and border protection checks for Colombians and goods entering the United States will be strengthened. President Trump's remarks came after President Petro announced that Colombia would not accept flights carrying migrants deported from the United States unless the Trump administration developed an agreement to treat these individuals with "dignity."

President Petro responded to the U.S. President's sanctions in a lengthy statement posted on X, announcing that he would also impose a 25% tariff on U.S. goods entering Colombia. President Petro said in his post, "I don't like your oil, Trump, you will destroy humanity with your greed." He also stated, "You think I'm an inferior race, I'm not, nor is any Colombian. So, if you know a stubborn person, it's me, and that's it. You can try to carry out a coup with your economic power and arrogance like they did to Allende. But I will die by my laws, I have resisted torture, and I resist you too. I don't want slave owners next to Colombia, we've already had many, and we've freed ourselves. Your blockade doesn't scare me because Colombia, besides being a beautiful country... from today, Colombia opens its doors to the world with open arms."

According to the U.S. Trade Representative's Office, the value of goods and services the U.S. imported from Colombia in 2022 was $24.8 billion (AUD 39.2 billion). The global economic monitoring agency CEPII stated that Colombia's largest export to the United States is crude oil, accounting for nearly 40% of its trade with the U.S., followed by coffee and fresh-cut flowers. President Petro, in his earlier announcement refusing the deportation flights, condemned the U.S. for treating deportees "as criminals" and attached a news video reportedly showing migrants deported to Brazil walking on the tarmac with their hands and feet bound. President Petro stated, "Migrants are not criminals and must be treated with the dignity that humans deserve. This is why I am returning the US military planes that carry Colombian migrants." He also added that his country would receive Colombians on "civilian planes" and "not treat them like criminals."

According to data from "Border Witness," an advocacy group that tracks flight data, Colombia received a total of 475 repatriation flights from the United States between 2020 and 2024, including 124 last year, ranking fifth in total, behind only Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and El Salvador. In recent years, the presence of Colombians at the U.S.-Mexico border has increased significantly, partly due to a visa system that allows them to easily fly to Mexico, thus avoiding crossing the dangerous Darien Gap. In the 12 months ending in September, they ranked fourth in the number of people arrested for illegal border crossings, with 127,604, behind only Mexicans, Guatemalans, and Venezuelans.

President Petro, a former left-wing guerrilla, later announced that the South American country's presidential plane had been arranged to facilitate the return of migrants who were supposed to arrive hours earlier on U.S. military planes, guaranteeing them "dignified conditions." Two hours after President Trump ordered the sanctions, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused President Petro of initially approving the flights to repatriate migrants, but then revoking that approval after the planes had taken off. Rubio said in a post on X, "Every country has a responsibility to seriously and quickly repatriate citizens who are illegally residing in the United States. President Trump has made it clear that under his leadership, the United States will no longer be deceived or exploited."

President Petro refuted this claim, saying, "I will never allow Colombians to be brought back on flights in handcuffs. Marco, if officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs allowed this, it was certainly not under my instructions." On Saturday in Brazil, the country's Foreign Ministry condemned the "degrading treatment" of Brazilians after a plane carrying 88 Brazilian passengers, 16 U.S. security personnel, and 8 crew members was scheduled to arrive in Belo Horizonte in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. Brazilian officials ordered the removal of the shackles seen in news videos, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva designated a Brazilian Air Force flight to complete their journey, the government said in a statement. According to the Brazilian Federal Police, the commercial charter was the second flight this year to return undocumented migrants deported from the U.S. to Brazil, and the first since Trump took office.

As part of a series of actions by President Trump to fulfill his campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his new administration is using active-duty military personnel to help secure the border and enforce deportations. Two Air Force C-17 transport aircraft carrying migrants deported from the U.S. landed in Guatemala earlier on Friday. On the same day, Honduras received two repatriation flights carrying a total of 193 people. However, Colombia's refusal to receive these flights is the second time a Latin American country has rejected repatriation flights, after Mexico also refused the Trump administration's request to allow U.S. military planes carrying migrants to land last week.