President Trump slams Colombian President Gustavo Petro after country refuses to allow US deportation flights to land
President Donald Trump took to social media on Sunday to push back against Colombian President Gustavo Petro after his country refused to allow two flights of Colombian illegal aliens to land in Colombia. The flights were part of Trump’s burgeoning deportation program, but were turned away by Petro, who argued that the US cannot “treat Colombian migrants as criminals.”
Trump responded by announcing a series of retaliatory measures, including a 25% tariff on all goods coming into the US from Colombia, which would rise to 50% after a week. He also ordered a travel ban and visa revocations for all Colombian government officials, including their “allies and supporters.” Additionally, he ordered enhanced Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspections of all Colombian nationals and cargo.
Trump wrote on social media that the measures were “just the beginning,” and that the US would not allow Colombia to “violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!”
A senior administration official told Fox News that the orders were a “clear message” that countries have an obligation to accept repatriation flights, and that officials are working on drafting final documents for the president’s signature on the sanctions indicated against Colombia.
Petro initially condemned the migrant flights, saying that the US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals, and denied the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into Colombian territory. However, he later appeared to back down and offered his own presidential plane to help repatriate migrants back to his country.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, warned that the administration’s deportation program is just getting started, and that officials are currently targeting illegal aliens who have committed violent crimes, but plans to deport everyone who has entered the country illegally will soon be implemented.
