Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Colombia as deported migrant flights denied

US President Donald Trump has mentioned he’ll impose 25% tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after its president barred two US army planes carrying deported migrants from touchdown within the nation.

Trump mentioned the tariffs “on all items” coming into the US from Colombia could be put in place “instantly”, and in a single week the 25% tariffs could be raised to 50%.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded by saying he would impose 50% tariffs on the US.

Petro earlier on Sunday mentioned he had denied entry to US army deportation flights. He mentioned he would “obtain our fellow residents on civilian planes, with out treating them like criminals” and migrants should be returned “with dignity and respect”.

US officers instructed the BBC’s US companion, CBS Information, that two army planes from San Diego had been as a result of land in Colombia on Sunday with migrant deportees, however these plans had been scrapped as a result of problems.

In response, Trump introduced “pressing and decisive retaliatory measures” in a publish on TruthSocial. He mentioned the US will impose a journey ban and “instant visa revocations” on Colombian authorities officers, in addition to its allies and supporters.

Trump additionally mentioned there could be visa sanctions on supporters of the Colombian authorities, and enhanced Customs and Border Safety inspections “of all Colombian nationals and cargo on nationwide safety grounds”.

“These measures are just the start,” Trump added, saying his administration wouldn’t permit the Colombian authorities “to violate its authorized obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they pressured into america”.

Petro responded on X by asserting his personal tariffs and celebrating Colombia’s heritage and resilience.

“Your blockade doesn’t scare me, as a result of Colombia, apart from being the nation of magnificence, is the center of the world,” he mentioned.

He additionally provided his presidential aircraft to facilitate the “respectable return” of deportees from the US who had been set to reach within the nation.

Additionally on Sunday, Petro mentioned greater than 15,666 People had been in Colombia illegally – a determine the BBC has not been capable of independently confirm.

Petro mentioned that not like the Trump administration, he would “by no means” be seen finishing up a raid to return unlawful US migrants.

The US imports about 20% of its espresso – value almost $2bn (£1.6bn) – from Colombia, in addition to different items like bananas, crude oil, avocados and flowers.

Tariffs will make importing these items costlier which, if handed onto the buyer, might imply increased espresso costs rising.

Importers might shift to different sources to keep away from this, which might in flip hit Colombian producers by decreasing a key market.

The sanctions and journey bans on the Colombian authorities and its supporters, and the breakdown in diplomatic relations that indicators, are additionally vital.

That is not only a battle of commerce, however a disagreement.

It’s no secret that Petro doesn’t like Trump – he has closely criticised his insurance policies on migration and the atmosphere previously. That simply ratcheted up.

Petro mentioned Trump would “wipe out the human species due to greed” and accused Trump of contemplating Colombians an “inferior race.” He went on to say that he’s “cussed” and that whereas Trump can attempt to “perform a coup” with “financial power and vanity” he’ll, briefly, battle again.

“From at present on, Colombia is open to all the world, with open arms,” he mentioned.

Whereas Trump is unlikely to take threats from Colombia, that is one thing that ought to fear a US president who needs to sort out migration.

Trump’s personal choose for deputy secretary of state, Christopher Landau, has argued that “working with different nations to cease such migratory flows” should be a “world crucial of US overseas coverage”.

Tens of 1000’s of migrants from world wide head north in direction of the US after touchdown in South America annually, travelling up by way of Colombia, normally facilitated by felony gangs.

The most recent developments will little doubt make it more durable for Trump’s administration to work with Colombia to cease this.

The feud between the 2 nations comes as Trump’s administration has vowed to hold out “mass deportations”. The president signed a number of government orders associated to immigration on his first day in workplace.

A few of Trump’s government orders had been signed with the intention of increasing Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) skill to arrest and detain illegal migrants on US soil.

White Home spokesperson Karoline Leavitt mentioned that 538 arrests had been carried out on Thursday alone.

For comparability, ICE detained greater than 149,700 folks within the 2024 fiscal 12 months below the Biden administration, which equals a mean of 409 a day.

Trump declared a nationwide emergency on the Mexico border, ordered officers to disclaim the suitable to citizenship to the kids of migrants within the US illegally or on non permanent visas and re-implemented his “Stay in Mexico” coverage from his first time period.

On Saturday, US Vice President JD Vance instructed CBS’s Face the Nation that he helps “doing legislation enforcement towards violent criminals”.

“Simply because we had been based by immigrants doesn’t suggest that 240 years later that we’ve got to have the dumbest immigration coverage on the earth,” he instructed CBS’s Margaret Brennan.

Tom Homan, Trump’s “border tsar” instructed ABC Information on Sunday that the army is at the moment on the US-Mexico border serving to with departure flights on army planes and constructing infrastructure to safe the border.

“It is sending a robust sign to the world: Our border is closed,” he mentioned.

Trump campaigned on securing the southern border and decreasing the variety of undocumented immigrants who enter the US.