Trump strikes back with retaliatory measures against Colombia for rejecting deportation flights
President Donald Trump pushed back on Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday after Petro's regime refused to allow U.S. deportation flights to land in his country.
The U.S. had sent two flights of Colombian illegal aliens from the U.S. this weekend as part of Trump's burgeoning deportation program. Petro argued on X that the U.S. cannot "treat Colombian migrants as criminals," leading to backlash from Trump.
"I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia. This order was given by Colombia’s Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people," Trump wrote on social media.
"Petro’s denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States, so I have directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures," Trump continued.
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Trump says he has ordered a 25% tariff on all goods coming into the U.S. from Colombia, a tariff that will rise to 50% after one week. He also ordered a travel ban and Visa revocations for all Colombian government officials, including their "allies and supporters."
He also ordered enhanced Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspections of "all Colombian nationals and cargo."
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"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!" Trump warned.
A senior Trump administration official told Fox News Digital that the orders were a "clear message" that countries have "an obligation to accept repatriation flights."
A White House source also told Fox News that officials are drafting final documents for the president’s signature on all sanctions indicated against Colombia, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already directed the cancelation of all visa appointments. The retaliatory process is moving at "lightning speed," Fox News is told.
Petro initially condemned the migrant flights in a statement released on Sunday.
"The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory. The United States must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them," Petro wrote.
Later on Sunday, the Colombian leader appeared to back down and offered his own presidential plane to help repatriate migrants back to his country. Petro said in a statement that the aircraft will be used "to facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were going to arrive in the country today in the morning, coming from deportation flights."
Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, has warned that the administration's deportation program is just getting started. Officials are currently targeting illegal aliens who have committed violent crimes, but Homan says everyone who has entered the country illegally will soon be "on the table."