Colombia backs down on accepting deportees on military planes

Colombia said Sunday evening it had agreed to “all of President Trump’s terms,” including the “unrestricted acceptance” of immigrants who entered the US illegally, after two US military planes carrying deportees were blocked from entering the country.

“We will continue to receive Colombians and Colombian women who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions as citizens subject to rights,” Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said in a televised statement. He added that US deportation flights had resumed, and the Colombian presidential plane was being prepared to assist in repatriating citizens.

The White House also backed off its threat to impose tariffs unless Colombia “fails to honor this agreement,” adding other penalties, including visa sanctions and customs inspections of Colombian nationals and cargo ships, will stay in place until the first plane of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.

“Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation’s sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States,” the White House said in a statement.

The announcement brings an end to a tumultuous weekend that threatened to raise coffee prices for American consumers and impact hundreds of thousands of Colombian workers. It’s also the first time Trump took major action against another country over his immigration policy since he took office last week.

The feud began early Sunday over the US miliary flights carrying deportees to Colombia. Documents reviewed by CNN show Colombia had previously approved the flights, though Colombian President Gustavo Petro disputed he had authorized them – and US officials claim the authorization was revoked once the planes were en route.

Petro blocked the planes from landing, accusing the US of treating Colombian migrants like criminals – prompting Trump to order steep tariffs on all Colombian imports, a travel ban for Colombian citizens, the revoking of visas for Colombian officials in the US, and suspending visa processing for both immigrant and non-immigrant visas.

The visa restrictions are particularly extraordinary as they are usually reserved for adversaries or individuals who have committed human rights abuses – while Colombia is a major non-NATO ally of the US, and for decades has been its closest partner in South America.

In response, Petro threatened retaliatory tariffs on the US and attacked Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on social media, writing: “You will never see me burning a US flag or carrying out a raid to return handcuffed illegal immigrants to the US.”

By Sunday evening, the White House announced the two countries had reached their agreement.

The face-off also demonstrates the potential challenges facing other countries as they brace for Trump’s immigration crackdown – with the new president already threatening tariffs on Canada and Mexico over border issues. And the perceived early victory over Colombia seems to have emboldened some in the White House.

“You can’t go out there and publicly defy us in that way,” a Trump administration official told CNN. “We’re going to make sure the world knows they can’t get away with being nonserious and deceptive.”