President Petro's halt to repatriations and the tycoon's reaction, who orders immediate sanctions
US President Donald Trump said he had ordered his administration to impose a series of tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after the country rejected a US military flight carrying migrants for repatriation. Bogota's move, in response to Donald Trump's iron-fisted policy against immigrants, came with a ban on US military flights carrying deported Colombians until the migrants are guaranteed "dignified treatment."
Petro: "The US should not treat Colombian migrants like criminals"
A decision that triggered the relentless retaliation of the US president, who announced massive tariffs and sanctions against the government of Colombian leader Gustavo Petro. "The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants like criminals," Petro wrote on X before announcing that he had "rejected US military planes arriving with Colombian migrants," without saying when or how many flights were involved. According to Colombian media, two planes with a total of 160 Colombians on board were denied entry.
Bogota to send presidential plane for repatriations
Petro did specify, however, that he would allow the entry of US civilian flights with deported migrants, as long as they were not treated "like criminals". The Colombian leader has in fact asked for a protocol that guarantees respect for human rights before accepting any repatriation from the US. In the meantime, Petro himself has made his presidential flight available for the repatriation of his compatriots from the US, after having argued about the fact that in Colombia too "there are 15,666 irregular Americans". However, "if they want they can stay in Colombia" because we "are the opposite of Nazis", attacked the leader of Bogota.
Visa Section of US Embassy in Bogota Closed
The American response to the Colombian moves was not long in coming. First with the decision of the US State Department - reported to the Colombian magazine Semana - to close the visa section of the US embassy in Bogota. Then, with the intervention of Donald Trump himself, who entrusted his social Truth with a list of retaliatory measures, accusing "the socialist president Petro" of having "jeopardized the national security and public safety of the United States" by refusing entry to two US flights "with a large number of illegal criminals".
Duties at 25%, could double in a week
Among the measures are 25% tariffs that will rise to 50% in a week, entry bans and visa revocation for all Colombian government officials, their allies and supporters, enhanced customs and border control inspections of all Colombian citizens and goods for national security reasons, treasury, banking and financial sanctions. "These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations," thundered the tycoon, igniting the latest chapter in the clash between Washington and left-wing governments in Latin America.
Add comment
Comments