Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Colombia as deported migrant flights denied

Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Colombia as deported migrant flights blocked

14 hours ago Ione Wells South America correspondent Malu Cursino BBC News

Reuters Colombian President Gustavo Petro says migrants are not criminals and should be treated with "dignity"

US President Donald Trump has said he will impose 25% tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after its president barred two US military planes carrying deported migrants from landing in the country. Trump said the tariffs "on all goods" coming into the US from Colombia would be put in place "immediately", and in one week the 25% tariffs would be raised to 50%. Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded by saying he would impose retaliatory tariffs of 25% on the US. Petro earlier on Sunday said he had denied entry to US military deportation flights. He said he would "receive our fellow citizens on civilian planes, without treating them like criminals" and migrants must be returned "with dignity and respect".

US officials told the BBC's US partner, CBS News, that two military planes from San Diego were due to land in Colombia on Sunday with migrant deportees, but those plans were scrapped due to complications. In response, Trump announced "urgent and decisive retaliatory measures" in a post on TruthSocial. He said the US will impose a travel ban and "immediate visa revocations" on Colombian government officials, as well as its allies and supporters. Trump also said there would be visa sanctions on supporters of the Colombian government, and enhanced Customs and Border Protection inspections "of all Colombian nationals and cargo on national security grounds". "These measures are just the beginning," Trump added, saying his administration would 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". Petro responded on X by announcing his own tariffs and celebrating Colombia's heritage and resilience. "Your blockade does not scare me, because Colombia, besides being the country of beauty, is the heart of the world," he said. He also offered his presidential plane to facilitate the "decent return" of deportees from the US who had been set to arrive in the country. Also on Sunday, Petro said more than 15,666 Americans were in Colombia illegally - a figure the BBC has not been able to independently verify. Petro said that unlike the Trump administration, he would "never" be seen carrying out a raid to return illegal US migrants.

US Government Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted this picture on X on 24 January announcing that deportation flights had begun

Co-operate or else: Trump's Columbia face-off is warning to all leaders

Six big immigration changes under Trump The US imports about 20% of its coffee - worth nearly $2bn (£1.6bn) - from Colombia, as well as other goods like bananas, crude oil, avocados and flowers. Tariffs will make importing these goods more expensive which, if passed onto the consumer, could mean higher coffee prices rising. Importers could shift to other sources to avoid this, which would in turn hit Colombian producers by reducing a key market. The sanctions and travel bans on the Colombian government and its supporters, and the breakdown in diplomatic relations that signals, are also significant. This is now not just a war of trade, but a war of words. It is no secret that Petro does not like Trump – he has heavily criticised his policies on migration and the environment in the past. That just ratcheted up. Petro said Trump would "wipe out the human species because of greed" and accused Trump of considering Colombians an "inferior race." He went on to say that he is "stubborn" and that while Trump can try to "carry out a coup" with "economic strength and arrogance" he will, in short, fight back. "From today on, Colombia is open to the entire world, with open arms," he said. While Trump is unlikely to take threats from Colombia, this is something that should worry a US president who wants to tackle migration. Trump's own pick for deputy secretary of state, Christopher Landau, has argued that "working with other countries to stop such migratory flows" must be a "global imperative of US foreign policy". Tens of thousands of migrants from around the world head north towards the US after landing in South America each year, travelling up through Colombia, usually facilitated by criminal gangs. The latest developments will no doubt make it harder for Trump's administration to work with Colombia to stop this.