Donald Trump launches tirade and tariffs after country denies deportation flight | World | News
Donald Trump has hit back at Colombia after the nation’s president Gustavo Petro refused to allow US deportation flights to land in the country.
The US had sent two flights of undocumented Colombians to the country this weekend as Trump begins to enact his promise of deporting millions of illegal migrants.
However, the plane was refused permission to land with the order to refuse to come directly from Colombian President Petro.
Trump blasted the decision on social media and said: “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.”
The president announced that emergency tariffs of 25% would be placed on Colombian goods entering the country, rising to 50% after one week.
Other measures include travel bans, visa revocations for Colombian Government Officials, visa sanctions for party members, enhanced Customs and Border Protection Inspections of all Colombian Nationals and Cargo, and Treasury, Banking, and Financial Sanctions.
A senior Trump administration official told Fox News Digital that the orders were a “clear message” that countries have “an obligation to accept repatriation flights.”
His tirade ominously warned: “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!”
The new US president promised “mass deportations on day one” throughout his election campaign, in addition to a range of tariff threats on Canada, Mexico and the European Union if they did not yield to his demands.
Petro has yet to respond to Trump’s announcement, posted at around 6.30pm GMT.
He did, however, condemn the attempt to land the planes loaded with migrants as he wrote: “The US 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.”
Trump has appointed Tom Homan to be his border czar who is known for his hardline approach to immigration.
Homan has previously said that anybody living in the country illegally will be considered for deportation whilst also promising to make it more difficult for those without official papers and their offspring to receive wages and benefits.
