Trump imposes 25-pct tariffs on Colombia after 2 US deportation flights denied landing

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced 25-percent tariffs on all goods imported from Colombia after the Latin American country refused to allow the landing of two flights carrying deported immigrants.

"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," Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro's rejection of these flights has "jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States," Trump wrote, noting that he has directed his administration to immediately take "urgent and decisive retaliatory measures."

Trump's retaliatory measures include: emergency 25-percent tariffs on all goods coming from Colombia, to be raised to 50 percent in one week; a travel ban and immediate visa revocations on Colombian government officials and all allies and supporters; visa sanctions on all party members, family members and supporters of the Colombian government; enhanced customs and border protection inspections of all Colombian nationals and cargo on national security grounds; International Emergency Economic Powers Act sanctions.

Earlier Sunday, Petro posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that his government would not accept US deportation flights until a protocol is established by the Trump administration to treat migrants with dignity. He also urged the United States to use civilian planes instead of military ones.

After Trump's announcement, Petro posted on X that he had ordered his foreign trade minister to raise tariffs on US imports by 25 percent.

Just a few days ago, the United States sent four deportation flights carrying immigrants to Mexico. However, according to multiple U.S. media reports, at least one flight was refused entry.

The United States also sent deportation flights to other countries, including Guatemala and Brazil. The Brazilian Foreign Ministry recently condemned the action, saying the immigrants on the deportation flights were subjected to humiliating treatment.

During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to carry out large-scale deportations of illegal immigrants once he took office. After his inauguration on Jan. 20, deportation operations began in several parts of the United States, allegedly focusing on criminals. The White House claimed that over 1,000 illegal immigrants had been arrested on Thursday and Friday, and hundreds of them were deported via military aircraft.

According to the Associated Press, Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the United States from 2020 to 2024. In 2024 alone, it accepted 124 deportation flights.