{"id":124279,"date":"2025-01-27T20:38:43","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T20:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/hundreds-of-us-visa-appointments-canceled-in-colombia-following-spat-over-deportation-flights-the-associated-press\/"},"modified":"2025-01-27T20:38:43","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T20:38:43","slug":"hundreds-of-us-visa-appointments-canceled-in-colombia-following-spat-over-deportation-flights-the-associated-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/hundreds-of-us-visa-appointments-canceled-in-colombia-following-spat-over-deportation-flights-the-associated-press\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of US visa appointments canceled in Colombia following spat over deportation flights – The Associated Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
A U.S. consular official explains to people with scheduled visa document submissions that their appointments were canceled due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the U.S., at a U.S. Embassy Applicant Service Center in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
A woman reads a notification about canceling her visa appointment due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights for Colombian citizens from the United States, outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
People stand outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, where they were notified their visa appointments were canceled due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the United States. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
People stand outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, where they were notified their visa appointments were canceled due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the United States. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
Gloria Camacho holds a notification stating her visa appointment was canceled, due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the U.S., outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
A U.S. consular official explains to people with scheduled visa document submissions that their appointments were canceled due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the U.S., at a U.S. Embassy Applicant Service Center in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
A U.S. consular official explains to people with scheduled visa document submissions that their appointments were canceled due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the U.S., at a U.S. Embassy Applicant Service Center in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
A woman reads a notification about canceling her visa appointment due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights for Colombian citizens from the United States, outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
A woman reads a notification about canceling her visa appointment due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights for Colombian citizens from the United States, outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
People stand outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, where they were notified their visa appointments were canceled due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the United States. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
People stand outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, where they were notified their visa appointments were canceled due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the United States. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
People stand outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, where they were notified their visa appointments were canceled due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the United States. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
People stand outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, where they were notified their visa appointments were canceled due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the United States. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
Gloria Camacho holds a notification stating her visa appointment was canceled, due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the U.S., outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
Gloria Camacho holds a notification stating her visa appointment was canceled, due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the U.S., outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara)
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) \u2014 Visa appointments at the U.S. Embassy in Colombia were canceled Monday following a dispute over deportation flights from the U.S.<\/a><\/span> that nearly turned into a costly trade war between the two countries.
Dozens of Colombians arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota and were handed letters by local staff that said their appointments had been canceled \u201cdue to the Colombian government\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian nationals.\u201d
Colombians, like most non-U.S. citizens, require a visa to travel to the United States for tourism, business or other purposes.
In Colombia it can take up to two years to get a visa appointment at the U.S embassy in Bogot\u00e1, which has also been handling visa requests from neighboring Venezuela for several years.
Visa applicants who turned up at the embassy on Monday said they were frustrated with the new restrictions, which mean they will likely have to wait several more months for a new appointment.
\u201cPresident Petro did not represent our interests,\u201d said Elio Camelo, a U.S. visa seeker from the city of Cali who had traveled to Bogota for his appointment.
\u201cThere is a lot of uncertainty now over what will happen next,\u201d said Mauricio Manrique, who had his Monday morning appointment cancelled. He had travelled from Popayan, 600 km (372 miles) south of Bogota, for his appointment.
Tensions between Colombia and the United States escalated Sunday after President Gustavo Petro wrote an early morning message on X saying he would not allow two U.S. Air Force planes carrying Colombian deportees to land in the country. He had previously authorized the flights.<\/p>\n

Petro also shared a video that showed another group of deportees reportedly arriving in Brazil with shackles on their legs. He said Colombia would only accept deportation flights when the United States had established protocols that ensured the \u201cdignified treatment\u201d of expelled migrants.
U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a><\/span> responded with a post of his own on Truth Social, in which he called for 25% emergency tariffs on Colombian exports to the United States, and also said that the U.S. visas of Colombian government officials would be revoked, while goods coming from the South American country would face enhanced customs inspections.
Meanwhile, the State Department said Sunday it would stop issuing visas to Colombian nationals until deportation flights resumed.
Tensions decreased Sunday night following negotiations between the countries, with the White House saying in a statement<\/a><\/span> that Colombia had allowed the resumption of deportation flights and \u201cagreed to all of President Trump\u2019s terms,\u201d including the arrival of deportees on military flights.
In the past, most Colombians removed from the United States had been arriving on charter flights organized by U.S. government contractors.
The White House said tariffs on Colombian exports would be put on hold, but added that visa restrictions on Colombian officials and enhanced custom inspections would remain \u201cuntil the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.\u201d
The State Department has not responded to requests for comment on the resumption of visa appointments.
Last year, more than 1.6 million Colombians traveled to the U.S. legally, according to a report by the Ministry of Commerce. The report said the United States was the top destination for Colombians traveling abroad.
Follow AP\u2019s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/latin-america<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.A U.S. consular official explains to people with scheduled visa document submissions that their appointments were canceled due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro\u2019s refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the U.S., at a U.S. Embassy Applicant Service Center in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124280,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}