The Colombian president had explained that Colombian authorities have always agreed to receive deportees, but would never accept this happening on military flights and with people handcuffed. It was announced that the presidential plane would be sent to "facilitate the dignified return" of immigrants deported from the US, but the country would give in after Trump's response.
The United States and Colombia have spent the last few hours 'measuring their strength' and the blame lies with the latest immigrant deportation measures imposed by Donald Trump. But what happened and how did it all start?
On Sunday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro spoke to announce that he had banned the entry of American military planes carrying deported Colombians, saying that immigrants must be treated with dignity.
"A migrant is not a criminal and should be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves. That is why I have withdrawn US military planes carrying Colombian migrants," wrote Gustavo Petro, a critic of his American counterpart, Donald Trump, on the network. social X.
The presidential plane and Trump's wrath
Shortly afterwards, the Colombian government announced that it would send a presidential plane to facilitate the departure of deported immigrants, thus provoking the ire of US President Donald Trump, who had already promised to retaliate with sanctions.
"The government of Colombia, under the leadership of President Gustavo Petro, has made the presidential plane available to facilitate the dignified return of citizens who were due to arrive in the country this morning on deportation flights," the Colombian presidential office said in a statement.
Soon after, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the suspension of visa issuance in Colombia. The US government justified this measure by the refusal of Colombian President Gustavo Petro to "accept two repatriation flights that he had previously authorized."
Reciprocity...
Petro chose to respond to Trump and announced that he would move forward with reciprocity in the taxes that Washington would impose, highlighting that from now on Bogotá would stop "looking to the North".
In a text full of historical and cultural references, published on the social network X, Petro stated that he "did not shake hands with white slave owners", but with "white libertarians, heirs of Lincoln and the black and white peasant boys of the USA".
"Your blockade does not scare me, because Colombia, in addition to being the country of beauty, is the heart of the world," he stressed.
In response, Trump announced that he would apply tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures against Colombia, justifying that Gustavo Petro's decision put national security in the US "at risk". "These measures are just the beginning," Trump warned on the social network Truth Social.
The 'arm wrestling' would not last long. Last night, the US Presidency would once again speak out to say that Colombia had accepted the American president's conditions for the repatriation of illegal immigrants and that, therefore, sanctions against Bogotá had been suspended.
"The Colombian government has accepted all of President Trump's conditions, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia removed from the United States, including aboard U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay," a White House statement read.
"Under this agreement, previously drafted tariffs and sanctions will be suspended and will not be implemented unless Colombia fails to comply with the agreement," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt added.
The suspension of visa issuance, however, remains "until the first flight of Colombian deportees arrives successfully," Leavitt added, making a point of emphasizing that these events "send a clear message to the world that America is once again respected.
That same night, Colombia's foreign minister confirmed that the impasse with the United States had been overcome and that Colombia had accepted Trump's conditions for repatriation.
"We will continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them dignified conditions as citizens with rights," said Luis Gilberto Murillo, in a press conference.
Note that the two countries have had partnerships on the ground for decades in the context of combating drug trafficking.
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