Colombia Agrees To Accept Deportation Flight Plan After Trump's Tariff Threats

Colombia has reversed its stance on a potential trade war with the United States, hours after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs and visa restrictions on Bogota for turning away US military aircraft carrying deported migrants.

The decision to back down came late on Sunday, following an earlier announcement by Colombian President Gustavo Petro that he would impose retaliatory tariffs on US imports and refuse to accept migrants not treated with “dignity and respect.”

In a late-night press conference, Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo confirmed that the impasse had been resolved and that Colombia would accept deported citizens from the US.

A statement from the White House confirmed that Colombia had agreed to all of Trump's terms, including "unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including those on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay."

"Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again," the White House added.

Escalating Tensions

The trade conflict had escalated after Trump announced a 25 percent "emergency" tariff on Colombian imports, set to rise to 50 percent the following week, in retaliation for Petro's refusal to accept deportation flights. Trump also threatened a "travel ban," immediate visa revocations, and "visa sanctions" on Colombian officials and their families, along with increased border inspections on all Colombian nationals and cargo.

“These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations regarding the acceptance and return of criminals they forced into the United States!” Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Trump later shared an image of himself dressed in a pinstripe suit and fedora, standing in front of a sign reading “FAFO,” an acronym for “f*** around and find out.”

Petro’s Defiant Response

Petro quickly responded to Trump's threats, announcing plans to impose retaliatory tariffs of up to 50 percent. In a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter), Petro, a former member of the leftist M-19 guerrilla group, expressed his distaste for traveling to the US, calling it "a bit boring," but also acknowledging his admiration for figures like Walt Whitman, Paul Simon, and Noam Chomsky.

“My land is made up of goldsmiths who worked in the time of the Egyptian pharaohs and the first artists in the world in Chiribiquete,” Petro wrote.

“You will never rule us. The warrior who rode our lands, shouting freedom, named Bolivar, stands against us.”

Earlier, Petro had refused the deportation flights as a protest against the US treating Colombian migrants as criminals. "I cannot allow migrants to remain in a country that does not want them; but if that country sends them back, it must be with dignity and respect for them and for our country," he said in a post on X, accompanied by footage of deportees in Brazil with their hands and feet restrained.