Colombian president retaliates after Trump's tariffs order over deportation flights

(AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday ordered an increase of import tariffs on United States goods in retaliation to a similar order announced hours earlier by President Donald Trump.

The tariffs fight follows Petro’s decision to reject two US military flights carrying migrants to Colombia. Trump, in a social media post, said the rejection “jeopardised” national security in the US.

Petro in a post on social media site X said he had ordered Colombia’s “foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the US by 25%.”

The government of Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, in a statement later announced that the South American country's presidential aircraft had been made available to facilitate the return of migrants who were to arrive hours earlier on the S. military airplanes and guarantee them “dignified conditions."

Colombia is the US' fourth-largest overseas supplier of crude oil, shipping about 209,000 barrels of oil per day last year, although booming domestic production has reduced the US’ dependence on foreign oil. Other imports include coal, coffee and gold.

Colombia is also the US’ largest supplier of fresh cut flowers, and with Valentine’s Day just weeks away, the price of saying “I love you” could be impacted.

Earlier Sunday Trump said he was ordering tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures to be taken against Colombia after its government rejected two U.S. military flights carrying migrants.

“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “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.”

Earlier Sunday, Petro said his government would not accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with “dignity.” Petro made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.

“A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves,” Petro said. “That is why I returned the US military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants... In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens."

Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the United States from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.

Last year, Colombia and other countries began accepting US-funded deportation flights from Panama.

The US government didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press regarding aircraft and protocols used in deportations to Colombia.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement said Petro “canceled his authorisation” for the flights when the aircraft were in the air.

No official order had been issued as of Sunday afternoon that would allow for the implementation of the measures Trump announced.

“This is a clear message we are sending that countries have an obligation to accept repatriation flights," a senior administration official told the AP. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss issue publicly.

Colombians emerged in recent years as a major presence on the U.S. border with Mexico, aided in part by a visa regime that allows them to easily fly to Mexico and avoid trekking though the treacherous Darien Gap. They ranked fourth with 127,604 arrests for illegal crossings during a 12-month period through September, behind Mexicans, Guatemalans and Venezuelans.

As part of a flurry of actions to make good on Trump's campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his government is using active-duty military to help secure the border and carry out deportations.

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