WASHINGTON – Facing another early challenge to his immigration policy, President Trump on Sunday ordered a 25% tariff on exports from Colombia and a travel ban on Colombian officials and “their supporters” as punishment for the country's refusal to accept military deportation flights from the United States
“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump said on social media.
Colombia's action came as many Latin American countries tried to figure out how to deal with the week-long Trump administration. They promised cooperation on some immigration issues, but also sought fair treatment and respect for their own national sovereignty.
Media reports in the US quoted Pentagon officials as saying that Mexico also denied a deportation flight permission to land late last week. Although Mexico did not explicitly confirm or deny the action, the country's Foreign Ministry emphasized the spirit of continued cooperation with the United States. President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would address the matter on Monday.
Still, tensions are high in Mexico, the country that is the largest source of migrants to the United States and where tens of thousands are stranded as Trump ends amnesty and other legal entry programs.
Both Colombia and Mexico have accepted some deportation flights in the past, but may now be responding to Trump's threats to exponentially increase the number and take in more migrants from third countries. Some in the region are also unsettled by the switch from civilian aircraft to U.S. military aircraft used in the deportations.
Trump said he would increase tariffs on all Colombian goods coming into the U.S. to 50% after a week if flights are not allowed. Although Colombia is not at the top of the region's list of trading partners with the United States, exporting only about $16 billion worth of goods, coffee is one of its most important commodities. The company also exports roses and other fresh-cut flowers, which are commonly used in the United States on holidays such as Valentine's Day.
He also said he would revoke the U.S. visas of various members of the Colombian government, impose visa restrictions on tens of thousands of other Colombians, increase customs and border controls on people and cargo from Colombia, and impose a series of unspecified financial and banking sanctions.
Trump's anger came in response to the actions of Gustavo Petro, Colombia's left-wing president, who is grappling with his own immigration crisis: the arrival of large numbers of people fleeing neighboring Venezuela.
“I have just been informed that two repatriation flights from the United States carrying large numbers of illegal criminals were not allowed to land in Colombia,” Trump wrote. “We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations to receive and return the criminals it forces to the United States!”
The two military C-17 planes left San Diego carrying about 80 migrants and flew to Colombia before being turned around, officials said.
When Trump came to power, Petro made a brief attempt to avoid confrontation, but that attempt appeared to have disappeared.
Petro also wrote on social media early Sunday and did not rule out approving the repatriation of Colombian nationals, but said the process must be done in a “dignified manner.”
“The US cannot treat Colombian migrants like criminals,” Petro wrote. “I refuse to allow US aircraft carrying Colombian migrants to enter our territory. The U.S. must establish a protocol for treating migrants with dignity before we admit them.”
He later said he would offer his presidential plane to pick up deported Colombians to prevent them from remaining stranded and stateless. He also proposed imposing a 25% tariff on U.S. exports.
Latin America's pushback comes ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's trip to the region later this week, his first as Trump's top diplomat. Neither Colombia nor Mexico are on his travel itinerary, although immigration will be on his agenda, particularly in Panama, Guatemala and El Salvador.
He is expected to push countries to accept deportees. The topic of Trump's desire to conquer the Panama Canal will also dominate discussions in Panama. (The other countries he will visit are Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.)
Across the region, Rubio also hopes to counter China's growing economic and diplomatic influence.
Guatemala on Friday allowed three U.S. planes — two military and one charter — to land there with 265 expelled migrants. And Brazil allowed two flights last week but complained that returning migrants were being shackled.
“President Trump has made it clear that under his administration, America will no longer be lied to or taken advantage of,” Rubio said in a terse statement responding to Petro's position on the flights. He said it is the responsibility of nations to take back their citizens who are in the United States without legal authorization.
But he said: “Colombian President Petro had authorized flights and issued all the necessary authorizations and then revoked his authorization when the planes were in the air.”
Opposition to Trump's immigration crackdown, in which he has threatened to deport several million people, including some who are in the United States legally but temporarily, is slowly trickling down as advocates and courts question the precise nature of the US's plans Understanding government.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Sunday that it had launched long-awaited raids in Chicago to protect “public safety and national security” by detaining immigrants and “keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities.” . ICE worked with the FBI, U.S. Marshals and several other federal agencies.
The first challenge to Trump's immigration plan came quickly when a federal judge blocked the administration's attempt to deny automatic U.S. citizenship to people born in the U.S. or non-citizens. Automatic or birthright citizenship is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. The judge, a Reagan appointee based in Seattle, granted a stay on Trump officials' attempt to enforce the law change.
Trump has portrayed the illegal entry of migrants across the US southern border as an invasion. Although the number of illegal border crossings increased early in the Biden administration, it has fallen sharply over the last year. The current number is at its lowest level since Trump left office.
The White House caused a stir with the start of the deportation flights, although there were thousands of such deportations under Biden, albeit without military involvement.
Will Freeman, a Colombia expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Petro will be forced to concede at some point but appears to want the fight for now.
“I can't think of many worse strategic mistakes for the United States competing with China than going nuclear against its oldest strategic ally and the last major country in South America where it enjoys a trade advantage,” Freeman said on the socials Media.
“Colombia is becoming a testing ground for the menacing approach to Latin America,” he added. “The Colombians will be the losers, as will the US against China.”
Times staff writer Patrick McDonnell in Mexico City contributed to this report.