Colombia made a big show of refusing to accept flights of returning illegal migrants from the United States. President Gustavo Petro, on Sunday, January 26, made a series of public X posts in which he insisted the deportations were a non-starter until President Trump found a way to do it that treated the repatriated with the “dignity that a human being deserves.” Trump was far from amused and immediately put the full power of the executive to work. From tariffs to sanctions – surprise, surprise – it worked. By Sunday afternoon, just a couple of hours after Trump's response, President Petro sent his presidential plane to pick up the deported individuals in Honduras.
Colombia on Notice
President Trump took to Truth Social to lay out his plans and to make a very public statement about the ramifications of not cooperating. He wrote:
“Petro’s denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States, so I have directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures.”
The president then listed a series of penalties that he intends to impose. These include an immediate 25% tariff on all goods (rising to 50% in one week), travel bans and visa revocations for all government members and party members, enhanced CBP processes for all Colombian nationals, and banking sanctions “fully imposed.”
“These measures are just the beginning. We 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!” he concluded.
To be clear, this would have been a near-complete shutdown of ties with the Colombian government, both politically and economically. Trump points out that Petro is already “very unpopular,” and because the United States is Colombia’s largest trading partner, the fiscal hits would be monumental. Essentially, The Donald was banking on Petro wanting to keep his job more than he wanted to refuse to take back his citizens - and he was right.
Is It Fair?
President Petro did not choose to respond diplomatically through the usual open channels. Instead, he made a play to improve his international street cred and broadcast his decision to the world. This may prove to be a disastrous move. He wrote on X:
“The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory. The United States must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them.”
Just to be clear: the Colombian migrants that Trump was trying to send back were, in fact, criminals. To suggest that one cannot treat criminals as “criminals” is an optically ridiculous position for a serious politician to take. How should one treat actual criminals?
He further wrote, “I cannot make migrants stay in a country that does not want them; but if that country sends them back, it must be with dignity and respect for them and for our country… We will receive our fellow citizens on civilian planes, without treating them like criminals.” Again, politically, this is thin gruel.
A Shot Across the Bow
Both Brazil and Mexico have made noises regarding the return of migrants. While neither had gone as far as Colombia, the three nations are closely aligned. Making statements is one thing, but refusing to go along is quite another. News reports suggested earlier this week that Mexico had refused to accept a flight, which was, perhaps unsurprisingly, met with cheers from Trump’s political opponents in the US. However, the White House released a statement saying it was just a technical issue, and the new White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted, "Yesterday, Mexico accepted a record 4 deportation flights in 1 day!"
It seems President Petro has accepted the new normal. The price for doing anything less is simply too high.
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