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President Donald Trump on Sunday announced retaliatory tariffs on Colombia after its president blocked US military deportation flights from landing, the first instance of Trump using economic pressure to force other nations to fall in line with his mass deportation plans since he took office last week.
Hours after Trump’s announcement, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he ordered the commerce ministry to raise tariffs on US imports by 25%. “I am informed that you impose a 50% tariff on the fruits of our human labor to enter the United States, and I do the same,” Petro wrote in a long post on X aimed at Trump, before he announced the 25% tax on US goods.
Earlier in the day, Petro announced he had blocked two US military flights carrying migrants heading toward the country and called on the United States to establish better protocols in its treatment of migrants. Petro also left the door open to receiving repatriated migrants traveling on civilian planes.
Following Petro’s announcement, Trump criticized him on social media while announcing a slate of new sanctions and policies targeting Colombia, including “emergency 25% tariffs” on all imports from the country that will be raised to 50% in a week, a “travel ban” for Colombian citizens, and a revocation of visas for Colombian officials in the US along with “all allies and supporters.”
Trump also ordered stricter inspections of cargo shipments arriving from Colombia, along with banking and finance sanctions and visa sanctions on “all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government.”
“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 Truth Social.
Petro responded dismissively to Trump’s announcement, writing on social media, “Trump, I don’t really like traveling to the US, it’s a bit boring.” He went on to criticize Trump’s policies and character, even suggesting the US president considers “me an inferior race and I’m not, nor is any Colombian.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Sunday statement that Colombian officials had approved two military flights carrying migrants to Colombia and then revoked the authorization once they were en route, as CNN reported earlier.
“Colombian President Petro had authorized flights and provided all needed authorizations and then canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air. As demonstrated by today’s actions, we are unwavering in our commitment to end illegal immigration and bolster America’s border security,” Rubio said in a statement.
CNN had previously reported Trump administration officials were surprised and frustrated when Petro said he was blocking US deportation flights from entering the country. Sources within the Colombian government were also caught by surprise by Petro’s post.
CNN has reached out to the Colombian government for comment.
Trump’s reaction to Colombia’s rejection of repatriated citizens marks the first major clash with another country over immigration issues since he began his second term.
“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.”
Later Sunday, Petro called on US citizens living in Colombia illegally to “regularize” their stay, without offering specifics. “American citizens who wish to do so can be in Colombia, I believe in human freedom,” he wrote on X, adding: “You will never see me burning a US flag or carrying out a raid to return handcuffed illegal immigrants to the US.” Petro also offered his presidential plane to help repatriate deportees from the US who were set to arrive in the country Sunday morning.
The US began using military aircraft to return recent border crossers back to their countries of origin last week. On Thursday, the US returned migrants to Guatemala using military planes.
White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday he expects military flights transporting deported migrants to continue daily, partly as a message to other nations.
The Department of Defense “has helped administrations before, but not at this level. So it’s a force multiplier, and it’s sending a strong signal to the world. Our border’s closed,” Homan told ABC News.
The US is also asking Mexico for help repatriating its nationals via land ports of entry along the US-Mexico border, though Mexico also appeared to turn around a military flight heading for the country last week.
Brazil joined Colombia on Sunday in condemning the Trump administration’s handling of repatriated migrants on deportation flights, denouncing the treatment of Brazilian nationals who arrived in the country Friday as “degrading.”
Brazilian authorities said they found 88 handcuffed deportees on a US flight headed to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, that landed in Manaus due to a “technical error.” Brazilian officials did not authorize the plane to continue on due to “the use of handcuffs and chains, the poor condition of the aircraft, with a faulty air conditioning system, among other problems,” and the migrants were transported to Manaus on a Brazilian Air Force flight.
Colombia is not a major trading partner with the United States, shipping roughly $14 billion worth of goods in 2023, the most recent full year of data according to Comtrade, an authority on trade data. Most of Colombia’s exports to the United States were minerals, oil, metals and coffee.
Coffee prices have shot higher over the past year, and this move by the Trump administration could eventually make prices even more expensive for American consumers. That’s because importers pay the tariffs and often pass the increased prices on to consumers.
Although tariffs can be an effective negotiating tool, they are generally disliked by economists, who believe they are inflationary and can ignite trade wars, which send prices even higher. That is not a universally held view, though. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, recently told CNBC that if tariffs help with national security and cause a little bit of inflation, then people should “get over it.”
But Trump has promised across-the-board tariffs on other countries as soon as this week if their goods aren’t manufactured in the United States. Those tariffs could dramatically boost prices for Americans.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon, Michael Rios, David Goldman, Omar Fajardo, Duarte Mendonça and Julia Vargas Jones contributed to this report.
