Colombia has denied entry to two American deportation flights, according to Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense officials.
The flights, conducted on U.S. military C-17 aircraft, were carrying about 80 Colombian immigrants each and had departed from California, the defense official told NBC News.
Initially cleared to land, the flights were suspended after Colombian President Gustavo Petro suddenly revoked all diplomatic clearances for U.S. military and Immigration and Customs Enforcement aircraft, the official said.
This comes after Mexico temporarily blocked a US plane from landing last week, thwarting deportation plans and raising tensions. While the issue was later resolved, Mexican officials have expressed opposition to unilateral U.S. actions on immigration measures.
President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social account and had this to say about the situation.
“I have just been informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of illegal criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia. This order was given by the socialist president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular among his people.”
Additionally, Trump indicated that “Petro’s denial of these flights has endangered the national security and public safety of the United States, which is why I have ordered my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and retaliatory measures: decisive”.
According to Donald Trump on his social network, he said that these will be his measures:
- Emergency tariffs of 25% on all goods entering the United States. In a week, the 25% tariffs will rise to 50%.
- Travel ban and immediate visa revocation for Colombian government officials and all allies and supporters.
- Visa sanctions for all party members, family members and supporters of the Colombian government.
- Enhanced customs and border protection inspections of all Colombian nationals and cargo for national security reasons.
- IEEPA Treasury, banking and finance sanctions will be imposed in full.
In turn, Trump assured that “these measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations regarding the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!
In a statement shared on X, Colombian President Gustavo Petro criticized the treatment of deported migrants.
“A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves,” he wrote. “We will receive our compatriots on civil planes, without treating them like criminals. “Colombia must be respected.”
Find out the details here.
Petro stated this Sunday that there are 15,660 Americans settled in the country “irregularly” and invited them to “regularize their situation.”
“There are 15,660 Americans established in Colombia irregularly. They must approach our immigration service to regularize their situation,” the president said on the social network X.
The statement comes just hours after Petro assured that he did not allow planes carrying citizens deported by the United States to arrive in the country because they did not receive decent treatment.
Part of this story was originally published in English by Gabe Gutierrez and Courtney Kube for NBC News. For more from NBC News, click here.
