The nation of Colombia just learned a very hard lesson: don’t mess with President Trump.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, said Sunday in a series of social media posts that Colombia would not accept military deportation flights from the United States until the Trump administration provided a process to treat Colombian migrants with “dignity and respect.”
“I cannot make migrants stay in a country that does not want them,” Petro wrote, “but if that country sends them back, it should be with dignity and respect for them and for our country.”
“The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory. The United States must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them,” Petro added.
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the Defense Department told NBC News that the several C-17’s carrying about 80 Colombia migrants each had departed California for Colombia.
President Trump then announced emergency tariffs and other penalties against Colombia after they refused to accept deportation flights filled with illegal aliens.
“I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This order was given by Colombia’s Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people. Petro’s denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States.”
Trump’s says he has also ordered a 25 percent tariff on all goods coming into the U.S. from Colombia, a tariff that will rise to 50 percent after one week.
He also ordered a travel ban and Visa revocations for all Colombian government officials, including their “allies and supporters.”
Additionally, the president has ordered enhanced Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspections of “all Colombian nationals and cargo.”
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Should President Trump slap tariffs on countries that refuse to take back their illegal immigrants? | ||
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“These measures are just the beginning. 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 warned.
An expert on Latin American studies told The New York Times that the standoff is a “pretty bold and daring escalation on both sides.
“But equally, for Trump to threaten Colombia this way is pretty bold itself,” said Will Freeman, of the Councl on Foreign Relations. “That’s because Colombia remains historically the longest standing, the deepest, strategic ally in the region.”
The tariffs could also impact your next trip to a coffee house. Axios reports that beans from Colombia make up 20 percent of U.S. coffee imports.
UPDATE: Just an hour after Trump imposed tariffs, Colombia had a change of heart. The White House released the following statement:
“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. Based on this agreement, the fully drafted IEEPA tariffs and sanctions will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement. The visa sanctions issued by the State Department, and enhanced inspections from Customs and Border Protection, will remain in effect until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned. 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.”
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