Colombia and the USA argue about deportations, then Trump’s blackmail takes effect

The United States and Colombia have resolved a quickly heated dispute over the deportation of migrants by plane. The agreement is a great success for US President Donald Trump. The Republican is likely to feel vindicated in his strategy of putting international partners under pressure through intimidation and drastic threats in order to achieve his goals. “Today’s events make it clear to the world that America is respected again,” wrote Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.

At the weekend, Colombia’s head of state Gustavo Petro initially banned the landing of two US military planes with Colombians deported from the USA on board – whereupon Trump did not hesitate and announced tariffs of 25 percent on goods from Colombia as well as entry restrictions for Colombians. Petro initially flexed his muscles and also announced tariffs – but then gave in.

The Colombian government has agreed to all of Trump’s conditions, including the “unrestricted acceptance” of all Colombians who would be sent back from the United States, Trump’s spokeswoman said late Sunday evening (local time). Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo confirmed that the deadlock with the US government had been resolved. On Petro’s instructions, the presidential plane was made available to facilitate the return of the Colombians.

Since his inauguration last week, Trump’s administration has been pushing ahead with arrests and deportations of undocumented migrants, despite criticism from civil and human rights activists. As a result, the US government also put undocumented people on planes to return them to their home countries.

Colombia is one of these countries – but President Petro banned the planes from landing. He justified his decision by saying that migrants are not criminals and should be treated with dignity. That’s why he had the US military aircraft sent back. Colombia will accept its nationals “on civilian aircraft without treating them as criminals.”

The Brazilian government had previously complained about the “degrading” treatment of dozens of migrants who had been deported from the USA to the city of Belo Horizonte. Their hands and feet were tied and the plane’s air conditioning was broken, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said.

Trump’s angry reaction to Petro’s decision followed promptly. The Republican announced that he would impose so-called emergency tariffs of 25 percent on all goods from Colombia that are imported into the USA. A week later, the additional tariffs were to be increased to 50 percent

The USA imports, among other things, coffee from the country at the northern tip of South America – but also bananas and other tropical fruits such as mangoes, avocados and pineapples. A free trade agreement has been in force since 2012 that has abolished or at least reduced most tariffs.

For reasons of national security, there will also be increased customs and border protection controls on all Colombian goods and nationals, the US President promised. Trump further stated that he had also ordered an entry ban and an immediate visa revocation for Colombian government officials, family members and supporters of the Colombian government. “These measures are just the beginning,” he threatened.

At first it didn’t look like Petro wanted to back down. Quite the opposite: Colombia’s head of state responded with tariffs of 25 percent on imports from the USA. Colombia imports, among other things, industrial and agricultural machinery, fertilizer, electrical appliances, pharmaceutical products, vehicles and fuel from the USA.

“Your blockade does not scare me,” said Petros in a letter addressed to Trump. In it, the Colombian wrote defiantly that he too was stubborn. “You can try to carry out a coup with your economic power and your arrogance,” Petro said. But his country will not allow itself to be bossed around by the USA.

Colombia has stabilized economically after the corona pandemic, but high inflation, unemployment and social inequality continue to cause problems. In some rural areas there are conflicts between guerrilla groups, drug cartels and the army. Drug trafficking is a big problem.

Just hours after Petro’s combative letter, the White House released a statement. It said that Petro had agreed to allow US military aircraft carrying people flown from the United States to land “without restriction or delay.” Based on this agreement, tariffs would not be imposed unless Colombia did not comply.

The visa sanctions imposed by the US State Department and the increased customs and border protection controls on all Colombian goods and nationals will remain in force until the first plane has landed in Colombia.

Petro initially shared the US government’s announcement on Platform X without comment, but deleted this post a short time later. Foreign Minister Murillo plans to travel to Washington in the coming days to hold talks on the agreement.

For Trump, the agreement is a great success. The Republican had already announced a deportation program of unprecedented proportions during the election campaign. Immediately after being sworn in, the Republican introduced measures to make it easier for the relevant authorities to arrest people without valid documents. The measures initially fell short of what was announced. But Trump, among other things, used the military for deportation flights and announced major raids.

The immigration agency ICE announced on Sunday that “targeted operations” had begun in the US metropolis of Chicago against migrants without a residence permit. According to CNN, the “blitz” gave several federal agencies additional powers to detain undocumented immigrants in the United States. The broadcaster reported that it was an operation lasting several days that would span the entire country.

Trump’s government is relying on publicity for its measures. Television man Phil McGraw, who is best known in the USA for his talk show “Dr. Phil”, was present at the operations in Chicago and had the actions filmed. He also released a video with Trump’s border security chief, Tom Homan, in which he defended the immigration agency’s action.

In the days after Trump’s inauguration, the daily number of nationwide arrests by the ICE agency appeared to be on a similar scale to that under predecessor Joe Biden. On Sunday, ICE announced 956 arrests, a significantly higher number than on previous days. For the 2023 budget year – still under the Democrat Biden – the authority reported more than 170,000 arrests, an average of around 467 per day. In the 2024 financial year there were a good 113,000 arrests, an average of 311 per day.

“You will see that the number of arrests will steadily increase across the country,” said Homan, whom Trump has appointed to oversee the planned “mass deportations,” in a TV interview. Anyone who is in the country illegally will be arrested. Homan also made it clear that more financial support from Congress was needed to implement Trump’s far-reaching plans.

Note: This article has been updated several times.