President Donald Trump slammed Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro for refusing to accept deportation flights while vowing to respond with tariffs and travel bans for Colombian officials.  Socialist Colombian President Petro announced that the country is refusing to accept deportation fights into the country, before quickly reversing course following Trump’s tariff threat.  Pushing back is sometimes the only solution. 

     “The U.S. 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,” Petro wrote in an X post.  President Trump responded to Petro’s announcement on Sunday, writing “I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia. This order was given by Colombia’s Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people.”

“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,” Trump continued.  The measures include an “Emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States. In one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%,” along with “Visa Sanctions on all Party Members, Family Members, and Supports of the Colombian Government.”

Trump also vowed to implement a travel ban and “immediate Visa Revocations on the Colombian Government Officials,” as well as “Enhanced Customs and Border Protection Inspections of all Colombian Nationals and Cargo on national security ground.” “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!”

Following Trump’s threat, the Colombian government quickly caved, even offering its own presidential plane to accept Colombian nationals who illegally migrated to the United States.