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WASHINGTON | Xinhua | The United States pulled back from imposing punitive tariffs on Colombia after the South American country agreed to accept deported citizens sent on U.S. military aircraft on Sunday.
This came after a flurry of tariff threats between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro sparked by Colombia’s refusal to allow the landing of two U.S. flights carrying deported immigrants.
This is the first time Trump has taken major action against another country over his immigration policy since taking office.
Here is what to know about the clash and what lies ahead for countries facing the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Colombian President Petro on Sunday said he would not authorize the entry of two U.S. military flights carrying deported Colombian migrants.
Noting that the United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals, Petro said in a post on X that Washington must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants.
“I cannot make migrants stay in a country that does not want them. But if that country returns them, it must be with dignity and respect for them and for our country. We will receive our compatriots in civilian planes, without treating them like criminals. Colombia must be respected,” he said.
In retaliation, Trump threatened to impose emergency 25-percent tariffs, which would have increased to 50 percent in one week, on all goods coming from Colombia, a travel ban and visa revocations on Colombian government officials, along with emergency treasury, banking and financial sanctions.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio followed up by suspending visa issuance to Colombian government officials and their family members, noting that the measures would continue until Colombia meets its obligations to accept the return of its own citizens.
In response, Colombia announced 25-percent tariffs on all goods from the United States in a tit-for-tat measure.
However, in a statement late on Sunday, the White House said Colombia had agreed to accept the migrants in the end, and Washington would hold off on its threatened penalties.
“The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Sunday night in a statement.
But it said visa sanctions against Colombian government officials would remain in force “until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.”
Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo later confirmed that the country was ready to receive the deportees, with a presidential plane prepared to facilitate their return.
TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN
The latest deportation to Colombia is part of Trump’s immigration policy, which has declared illegal immigration a national emergency, resulting in crackdowns since he took office.
Trump signed on his inauguration day an executive order that declared a national emergency along the U.S.-Mexico border, called for mass deportations of undocumented migrants, deployed military forces to the border and took steps to restrict citizenship for children born on U.S. soil.
Just days before the Colombia standoff, the White House claimed that over 1,000 illegal immigrants had been arrested, and hundreds of them were deported via military aircraft.
Besides Colombia, the United States has sent deportation flights to other countries, including Mexico and Brazil.
On Friday, U.S. military aircraft carried out two flights, each with about 80 migrants, to Guatemala.
Four deportation flights carrying immigrants were sent to Mexico. However, according to multiple U.S. media reports, at least one flight was refused entry.
The Brazilian Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the U.S. handling of repatriated migrants, saying the immigrants on the deportation flights were subjected to humiliating treatment.
ASSERTING CONTROL
As many media reports noted, the use of U.S. military aircraft to carry out deportation flights is unusual.
The Defense Department “has helped administrations before, but not at this level. So it’s a force multiplier,” ABC reported, citing Tom Homan, the border czar appointed by Trump.
“It’s sending a strong signal to the world. Our border’s closed,” Homan said.
In the statement that ended the standoff between Colombia and America, the White House also sent a message that the United States is once again asserting control over its borders.
“Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation’s sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States,” it said.
Although Trump walked back his threats against Colombia, he has promised tariffs on other countries as soon as this week. He said earlier his administration would impose 25 percent duties on imports from Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1 to force further action against illegal immigrants and fentanyl flowing into America.
“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social while threatening Colombia, signaling what other countries could face if they resist U.S. immigration policies. ■
