(CLO) US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he would impose comprehensive retaliatory measures against Colombia, including tariffs and sanctions, after the South American country refused to take two US military planes carrying deported immigrants.
Colombia, the US's third-largest trading partner in Latin America, was also quick to respond by threatening to impose a 50% tariff on US goods.
Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social that Colombian President Gustavo Petro's refusal to accept flights endangered US national security.
Retaliatory measures include a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods imported into the United States, which will increase to 50% in a week; a travel ban and visa revocation for Colombian government officials; and emergency treasury, banking and financial sanctions.
Migrants board a C-17 Globemaster III for an evacuation flight at Fort Bliss, Texas on January 23, 2025. Photo: US Department of Defense
Mr Trump said he would also direct increased border checks on Colombian citizens and goods. “These measures are just the beginning,” he wrote. “We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations to accept and return the criminals they have forced into the United States!”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the United States "will no longer be deceived or taken advantage of," adding that President Petro authorized the flights and provided all necessary permits but then revoked them while the planes were in the air.
The US president has previously declared illegal immigration a national emergency and imposed a sweeping crackdown since taking office last Monday. He has directed the US military to support border security, issued a sweeping ban on asylum and taken steps to restrict citizenship for children born on US soil.
Colombian President Petro condemned the move on Sunday, saying it treated migrants like criminals. In a post on the social media platform X, he said Colombia would welcome deported migrants back to their home country on civilian planes. “The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants like criminals,” Petro wrote.
President Petro said that despite the 15,660 Americans without legal immigration status in Colombia, he would never carry out a raid to return handcuffed Americans to the United States. "We are the opposite of Nazis," he wrote.
Last week, Mexico also denied a request to allow a US military plane carrying migrants to land.
Mr Trump has not taken similar action against Mexico, the US’s largest trading partner, but has said he is considering imposing a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico on February 1 to force further action against illegal immigrants and fentanyl flowing into the US.
The country is Colombia's largest trading partner, largely thanks to a 2006 free trade agreement, with two-way trade worth $33.8 billion in 2023 and a rare U.S. trade surplus of $1.6 billion, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Hoang Hai (according to Truth Social, Reuters, CNBC)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/ong-trump-trung-phat-colombia-sau-khi-nuoc-nay-tu-choi-cac-chuyen-bay-truc-xuat-nguoi-nhap-cu-post332123.html
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