US President Donald Trump has announced sanctions against Colombia for refusing to take back deported migrants. Additionally, he has imposed a 25% tariff on all products from the South American nation.
The Republican president declared that the tariff decision would take immediate effect. News agencies Reuters and BBC reported the development on Monday (January 27).
According to the BBC, Trump made the announcement after Colombian President Gustavo Petro blocked two US military planes carrying deported migrants from landing in his country. Trump stated that a 25% tariff on “all products” from Colombia would be enforced “immediately” and could be raised to 50% within a week. In response, Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared a retaliatory 25% tariff on US goods.
Trump also warned of additional retaliatory measures against Colombia for denying landing permission to the US planes. He said these steps were necessary as Petro’s decision put US national security at “risk.”
On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote, “This is just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligation to take back the criminals they have pushed into the United States.”
Earlier, on Sunday, Petro stated that his government would not accept planes carrying deported migrants from the US until a system is established to treat the migrants with “respect.”
In two posts on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Petro shared this announcement, including a news video showing deported migrants wearing shackles while walking on an airport tarmac in Brazil.
Petro said, “A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity they deserve as a human being. That’s why I sent back the US military planes carrying Colombian deportees.”
It is worth noting that Colombia has received 475 planes carrying deported migrants between 2020 and 2024. According to Witness at the Border, an organization that tracks deportation flight statistics, Colombia ranks fifth in receiving deportees, behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and El Salvador.