Colombia Denies US Deportation Flights Landing Rights

Colombia’s President Petro announced on X that the country will not allow US military planes carrying migrants to land on its territory. Two such flights were turned away, according to a US official who spoke to Reuters.

These planes returned to a California airport, carrying approximately 160 migrants. In response, US President Trump imposed sanctions.

As reported by Colombian magazine Semana, Trump has prohibited the US embassy in Bogotá from processing new visa applications. He announced on Truth Social the imposition of a 25% tariff on Colombian goods, threatening to increase it to 50% within a week.

Trump also revoked visas for Colombian government officials and plans to sanction the financial sector. Petro criticized the deportation flights, stating that “migrants should be treated with dignity and respect.” He added that while Colombia would accept deported Colombians via commercial flights, it opposed the treatment of Colombian migrants as criminals.

In Latin America, other countries have joined Colombia in resisting Trump’s mass deportations. Mexico recently denied a deportation flight landing, and Brazil’s Foreign Ministry demanded explanations for the treatment of 88 deported Brazilians.

Trump, after his inauguration, signed presidential decrees to initiate mass deportations as promised during his campaign. ICE reported that 593 migrants were arrested on Friday, nearly double the number from the previous September, though it remains unclear if arrests have increased overall since Trump’s inauguration.

Source: NOS

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