Sunday, January 26, 2025

Trump issuing ‘emergency 25% tariffs’ against Colombia after country turned back deportation flights

THINK OF THE PRICE OF A CUP OF COFFEE


Alejandra Jaramillo, Aaron Pellish and Priscilla Alvarez,
 CNN
Sun 26 January 2025 

President Donald Trump on Sunday announced retaliatory tariffs on Colombia after its president blocked US military deportation flights from landing, the first instance of Trump using economic pressure to force other nations to fall in line with his mass deportation plans since he took office last week.

Earlier in the day, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced he had blocked two US military flights carrying migrants heading toward the country and called on the United States to establish better protocols in its treatment of migrants. Petro also left the door open to receiving repatriated migrants traveling on civilian planes.

Following Petro’s announcement, Trump criticized him on social media while announcing a slate of new sanctions and policies targeting Colombia, including “emergency 25% tariffs” on all imports from the country that will be raised to 50% in a week, a “travel ban” for Colombian citizens, and a revocation of visas for Colombian officials in the US along with “all allies and supporters.”

Trump also ordered stricter inspections of cargo shipments arriving from Colombia, along with banking and finance sanctions and visa sanctions on “all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government.”

“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!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Sunday statement that Colombian officials had approved two military flights carrying migrants to Colombia and then revoked the authorization once they were en route, as CNN reported earlier.

“Colombian President Petro had authorized flights and provided all needed authorizations and then canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air. As demonstrated by today’s actions, we are unwavering in our commitment to end illegal immigration and bolster America’s border security,” Rubio said in a statement.

CNN had previously reported Trump administration officials were surprised and frustrated when Petro said he was blocking US deportation flights from entering the country. Sources within the Colombian government were also caught by surprise by Petro’s post.

CNN has reached out to the Colombian government for comment.


Trump’s reaction to Colombia’s rejection of repatriated citizens marks the first major clash with another country over immigration issues since he began his second term.

“You can’t go out there and publicly defy us in that way,” a Trump administration official told CNN. “We’re going to make sure the world knows they can’t get away with being nonserious and deceptive.”

Later Sunday, Petro called on US citizens living in Colombia illegally to “regularize” their stay, without offering specifics. “American citizens who wish to do so can be in Colombia, I believe in human freedom,” he wrote on X, adding: “You will never see me burning a US flag or carrying out a raid to return handcuffed illegal immigrants to the US.” Petro also offered his presidential plane to help repatriate deportees from the US who were set to arrive in the country Sunday morning.

The US began using military aircraft to return recent border crossers back to their countries of origin last week. On Thursday, the US returned migrants to Guatemala using military planes.

White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday he expects military flights transporting deported migrants to continue daily, partly as a message to other nations.

The Department of Defense “has helped administrations before, but not at this level. So it’s a force multiplier, and it’s sending a strong signal to the world. Our border’s closed,” Homan told ABC News.

The US is also asking Mexico for help repatriating its nationals via land ports of entry along the US-Mexico border, though Mexico also appeared to turn around a military flight heading for the country last week.

Brazil joined Colombia on Sunday in condemning the Trump administration’s handling of repatriated migrants on deportation flights, denouncing the treatment of Brazilian nationals who arrived in the country Friday as “degrading.”

Brazilian authorities said they found 88 handcuffed deportees on a US flight headed to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, that landed in Manaus due to a “technical error.” Brazilian officials did not authorize the plane to continue on due to “the use of handcuffs and chains, the poor condition of the aircraft, with a faulty air conditioning system, among other problems,” and the migrants were transported to Manaus on a Brazilian Air Force flight.

Colombia is not a major trading partner with the United States, shipping roughly $14 billion worth of goods in 2023, the most recent full year of data according to Comtrade, an authority on trade data. Most of Colombia’s exports to the United States were minerals, oil, metals and coffee.

Coffee prices have shot higher over the past year, and this move by the Trump administration could eventually make prices even more expensive for American consumers. That’s because importers pay the tariffs and often pass the increased prices on to consumers.


Although tariffs can be an effective negotiating tool, they are generally disliked by economists, who believe they are inflationary and can ignite trade wars, which send prices even higher. That is not a universally held view, though. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, recently told CNBC that if tariffs help with national security and cause a little bit of inflation, then people should “get over it.”

But Trump has promised across-the-board tariffs on other countries as soon as this week if their goods aren’t manufactured in the United States. Those tariffs could dramatically boost prices for Americans.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon, Michael Rios, David Goldman, Omar Fajardo, Duarte Mendonça and Julia Vargas Jones contributed to this report.

Trump slaps sanctions after Colombia defies deportation push

Shaun Tandon with David Salazar in Bogota
Sun 26 January 2025 at 2:16 pm GMT-7·4-min read


Trump's threats to deport millions of migrants has put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home to many of the estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States (Douglas MAGNO) (Douglas MAGNO/AFP/AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered sweeping tariffs and sanctions against Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights, doubling down on his immigration crackdown as he sought to silence a chorus of defiance in Latin America.

Trump, back into office for less than a week, said he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on Colombian products that would rise to 50 percent in a week.

His authority to do so was unclear as Colombia, historically one of Washington's closest allies in Latin America, enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.

Trump also said he would immediately revoke visas for Colombian government officials and "supporters" of President Gustavo Petro -- and subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at airports.

"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!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport foreigners unlawfully in the United States, but has faced resistance from Petro, elected in 2022 as the first left-wing leader of Latin America's fourth-largest economy.

"The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants," Petro wrote on X.

In a later post, he said he had "turned back US military planes." Trump said two US planes were not allowed to land.

The Colombian government said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport "with dignity" the migrants whose flights were blocked by Bogota.

Petro also said he was ready to allow civilian US flights carrying deported migrants to land, as long as those aboard were not treated "like criminals."

In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Petro had authorized the flights but then "canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air."

The Colombian leader meanwhile said that more than 15,600 undocumented Americans were living in his country and urged them to "regularize their situation," while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.

The trip comes days before Rubio is set to visit Latin America -- but not Colombia -- on his first trip as top US diplomat.

He is also not scheduled to visit Mexico, which has been critical of the use of military planes for deportations.

- 'Tied hands and feet' -


Trump's deportation threats have put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the United States' estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.

Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday.

The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump's return, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called "flagrant disregard" for their basic rights.

Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: "On the plane they didn't give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn't even let us go to the bathroom."

"It was very hot, some people fainted."

TV footage showed some passengers descending from the civilian plane with their hands handcuffed and their ankles shackled.

Several deportation flights since Trump's return to office have garnered public and media attention, although such actions were also common under previous administrations.

In a break with prior practice, however, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft for some repatriation flights, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.

Several Latin American countries have vowed to welcome back citizens, many of whom have been living and working in the United States for years, with open arms.

The Mexican government said it planned to open nine shelters for its citizens and three more for deported foreigners, under a scheme called "Mexico embraces you."

President Claudia Sheinbaum said the government would also provide humanitarian assistance to deported migrants from other countries before repatriating them.

Honduras, a central American country that is also a large source of migrants to the United States, said it was launching a program for returnees entitled "Brother, come home," which would include a "solidarity" payment, food and access to employment opportunities.

das-sct/bfm/jgc

Trump announ
ces 'retaliatory measures' after Colombia refuses to accept deported migrant flight

Sky News
Updated Sun 26 January 2025 




Donald Trump says he will retaliate with "urgent and decisive" measures after Colombia turned away two US military planes carrying deported migrants.

The US leader said Colombian president Gustavo Petro's action "jeopardised the national security and public safety of the United States" in a statement on Truth Social.

The retaliatory measures include 25% emergency tariffs on Colombian goods, a travel ban and visa sanctions on members and supporters of the Colombian government and enhanced border inspections on all Colombian nationals and cargo.

Existing financial sanctions will also be fully imposed, according to Mr Trump and in one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%.

"These measures are just the beginning," the president wrote.

"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!"

His post was quickly followed by an AI-generated image showing the president in a fedora hat, alongside a sign reading FAFO, which usually stands for "f*** around, find out".

President Petro said Colombia would welcome home deported migrants if they came on civilian planes, saying they should be treated with dignity and respect.

"The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals," Mr Petro wrote on X, noting that there were 15,660 Americans without proper immigration status in Colombia.

Colombia's decision follows a similar one by Mexico, which refused a request to let a US military aircraft land with migrants on Thursday.

It was then confirmed to Sky's partner newsroom NBC that four deportation flights accepted by Mexico on Thursday were government-chartered flights, not military aircraft.

There is growing discontent in South American countries as Mr Trump's week-old administration begins mass deportations.

On Saturday, Brazil's foreign ministry condemned the "degrading treatment" of Brazilians after migrants were handcuffed on a commercial deportation flight.


Brazilian officials ordered the removal of the handcuffs when the plane landed and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva designated a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) flight to complete their journey, the government said in a statement on Saturday.

Using military aircraft to carry out deportation flights is a response to Mr Trump's national emergency declaration on immigration on Monday.

Although US military aircraft have been used in emergencies like the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, this is the first time in recent memory they've been used to fly migrants out of the country, one US official said.

Military aircraft carried out two similar flights, each with about 80 migrants, to Guatemala on Friday.

US officials did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

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