Hours after threatening punitive tariffs, the White House said Colombia agreed to accept deported migrants, according to Politico.
US President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Sunday that the Colombian government had agreed to take steps to remove migrants from the country. They would be returned on military aircraft “without limitation or delay,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation’s sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States.
The mutual exchange of threats on social media underscored Trump’s efforts to keep his migration pledges. The White House said the emergency tariffs and sanctions Trump threatened earlier in the day were fully developed and would be in place – but not signed – unless Colombia complied with the agreement.
Visa sanctions imposed by the State Department, as well as increased inspections by Customs and Border Protection, would remain in place until the first plane carrying Colombian migrants returned.
The dispute broke out after Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused two US military planes full of detained Colombian migrants. He called for a “dignified return” of the deportees, not “handcuffed and on military craft.”
In response, Trump threatened an emergency 25% tariff on all goods imported from Colombia, as well as visa restrictions, a travel ban, increased border checks and financial penalties.
