UPDATE: Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced a 50 percent tariff on American imports, responding to President Donald Trump's economic and diplomatic measures against the South American nation after they refused to accept two flights with Columbian illegal migrants on Sunday. Petro dismissed Trump’s “blockade” as ineffectual, declaring, “If you know anyone stubborn, that's me. I will die for my principles... I resist you.”
The announcement comes after a tense exchange between the two leaders, sparked by Colombia’s refusal to accept the two US military flights carrying deported illegal immigrants. Petro slammed the deportation practice as inhumane, claiming that deported Colombians would only be repatriated on civilian flights to ensure their dignity. Trump, in turn, imposed an onslaught of retaliatory measures, including emergency tariffs, visa bans on Colombian officials, and heightened inspections of Colombian goods and nationals entering the US.
Petro accused Trump of treating Colombians as an “inferior race" and compared Trump’s policies to colonial-era exploitation, stating, “You will never rule us. Colombia is the heart of the world, and you didn’t understand that.”
“You can try to carry out a coup with your economic strength and your arrogance, like they did with Allende,” he said, referencing the overthrow of Chilean President Salvador Allende in 1973.
A statement from the State Department on Sunday afternoon reads: "The State Department will continue to enforce and prioritize an America First agenda. Following President Petro’s refusal to accept two repatriation flights he previously authorized, Secretary Rubio immediately ordered a suspension of visa issuance at the U.S. Embassy Bogota consular section. Secretary Rubio is now authorizing travel sanctions on individuals and their families, who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations. Measures will continue until Colombia meets its obligations to accept the return of its own citizens. America will not back down when it comes to defending its national security interests."
Trump, meanwhile, defended his hardline immigration policies, citing the massive national security concerns. On Truth Social, he slammed Petro’s decision to block the deportation flights, accusing him of jeopardizing US safety and violating international obligations: “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 said in a lengthy post of his own.
Brazil’s leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also added his two cents and denounced the US’s treatment of deportees, citing reports of passengers being restrained with handcuffs during a recent deportation flight. Similar resistance from Mexico, which also blocked US military flights carrying deportees, underscores the growing opposition among Latin American nations to Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The president declared that Colombia would “stop looking north” and open its arms to the global community, framing the tariff as part of a larger strategy to assert independence from US economic influence. He would also go on to repost a post by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez that said that coffee bean prices would increase for US consumers.
Original article below.
