Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One as he travels from Las Vegas to Miami on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) \u2014 U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was ordering tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures to be taken against Colombia after its government rejected two flights carrying migrants.
Trump said the measures were necessary, because the decision of Colombian President Gustavo Petro \u201cjeopardized\u201d national security in the U.S.
\u201cThese measures are just the beginning,\u201d Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. \u201cWe will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States.\u201d
Earlier Sunday, Petro said that his government won\u2019t accept flights carrying migrants deported from the U.S. until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with \u201cdignity.\u201d Petro made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.
\u201cA migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves,\u201d Petro said. \u201cThat is why I returned the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants.\u201d
The U.S. government didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press regarding aircraft and protocols used in deportations to Colombia.<\/p>\n
Petro added that his country would receive Colombians in \u201ccivilian airplanes\u201d and \u201cwithout treatment like criminals.\u201d
As part of a flurry of actions to make good on U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his government is using active-duty military to help secure the border and carry out deportations.
Two Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying migrants removed from the U.S. touched down early Friday in Guatemala. That same day, Honduras received two deportation flights carrying a total of 193 people.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n