Trump, Colombia wage tariff war amid US immigration row

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Trump ordered sweeping tariffs and sanctions against Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights, as Petro responded in kind with a 25 percent levy on US goods. — Pic by AFP

WASHINGTON, Jan 27 — US President Donald Trump yesterday ordered sweeping tariffs and sanctions against Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights, as Bogota responded in kind with a 25 percent levy on US goods.

Trump, back in office for less than a week and peeved after President Gustavo Petro turned away the US planes, launched the tit-for-tat by promising to impose 25 percent on Colombian products, which 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 Petro’s “supporters” — 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.

Not to be outdone, Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, said that he had instructed his minister for external trade “to raise tariffs on imports from the US to 25%.”

In a long diatribe on X addressed to Trump he declared: “You will never dominate us.”

‘I forbid entry’

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 earlier 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 the migrants “with dignity.”

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.”

Petro additionally urged what he said were the more than 15,600 undocumented Americans living in his country to “regularize their situation,” while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.

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

Petro’s Colombian critics reacted furiously to what they saw as his reckless rumble with Trump.

Former right-wing president Ivan Duque accused Petro of “an act of tremendous irresponsibility” for refusing what he called Colombia’s “moral duty” to take back illegal migrants and warned US sanctions would take an “enormous” toll.

The facade of the United States Embassy is pictured in Bogota. — Pic by AFP

‘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.”

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.

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

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. — AFP