Trump threatens Colombia with tariffs after 2 US military flights blocked from landing
President Donald Trump posted threats against Colombia on his social media platform on Sunday after two U.S. military repatriation flights were prevented from landing.
President Donald Trump posted threats against Colombia on his social media platform on Sunday after two U.S. military repatriation flights carrying undocumented immigrants were not allowed to land there.
In a retaliatory response, Trump aimed his wrath at Colombian President Gustavo Petro, alleging that his decision "has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States."
"I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia. This order was given by Colombia's Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people," Trump said in the post. There has been no confirmation that all, if any, passengers aboard the plane were criminals.
Trump also said he has ordered his administration to place an emergency 25% tariff on goods coming into the United States from Colombia, and he threatened to raise it in a week to 50%.
Additionally, Trump said his administration would issue a travel ban and immediately revoke the visas of Colombian government officials -- and those of all of the country's allies and supporters.
The U.S. president threatened to issue visa sanctions on all party members, family members and supporters of the Colombian government.
Citing national security, Trump added that he would also enhance Customs and Border Protection Inspections of all Colombian nationals and Colombian cargo.
This combination of pictures created on January 26, 2025 shows President Donald Trump in Las Vegas, Nev.,Jan. 25, 2025, and Colombian President Gustavo Petro in Bogota, May 31, 2024.
Mandel Ngan/Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images
Trump said he would use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to fully impose treasury, banking and financial sanctions.
"These measures are just the beginning," Trump said in his post. "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!" No evidence has been produced to show that Colombia forced anyone into the U.S.
The Colombia Foreign Ministry confirmed to ABC News that two U.S. military aircraft had been blocked from landing in Colombia on Sunday. It was not immediately clear if all 160 passengers aboard the flights were Colombian citizens.
"A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that every human being deserves," Petro said in a statement posted on X on Sunday. It included a video of Brazilian deportees handcuffed after landing in Brazil.
The Foreign Ministry of Brazil also issued a statement Sunday asking the United States to clarify the "degrading treatment" of the deportees.
Petro had issued an early-morning statement on X saying that he objected to U.S. military repatriation planes landing in Colombia -- although, the country would accept civilian planes repatriating citizens, he added.
But a U.S. defense official told ABC News that the two U.S. Air Force C-17 transport aircraft had been granted diplomatic clearances. Then, when the planes were already heading south, Colombia notified the U.S. that they would not be allowed to land, the defense official said.
In a statement posted on X on Sunday afternoon, Petro offered to send his presidential plane to bring deportees to Colombia in a "dignified" manner.
Mexico has also denied U.S. military repatriation flights from landing there, a U.S. official familiar with the situation told ABC News, while explaining that such flights are not being prepared until after all diplomatic clearances have been finalized.
Like Colombia, Mexico does not have a problem with contracted civilian aircraft carrying out the flights, the official said, and those are what the Department of Homeland Security typically uses.
Discussions are ongoing, the official added.
In an interview on Sunday with Martha Raddatz -- ABC News' chief global affairs correspondent and a co-anchor of "This Week" -- Trump's "border czar," Tom Homan, discussed what would happen to countries that won't take the undocumented immigrants back.
"Oh, they'll take them back," Homan said. "We got President Trump coming to power. President Trump puts America first. Mexico didn't want the 'Remain in Mexico' program under the first administration. They did it. They didn't want to put military on the southern border. They did it."
But if countries didn't comply, "then we'll place them in a third safe country," he added.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a statement on X on Sunday afternoon, saying, "President Trump has made it clear that under his administration, America will no longer be lied to nor taken advantage of."
"It is the responsibility of each nation to take back their citizens who are illegally present in the United States in a serious and expeditious manner," Rubio wrote. "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."
Later in the evening, the U.S. Department of State added a post saying that Rubio âimmediately ordered a suspension of visa issuance at the U.S. Embassy Bogota consular sectionâ and is now âauthorizing travel sanctions on individuals and their families, who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations.â
The tariffs could have a serious impact on Colombia's economy because the U.S. is Colombia's largest trading partner. According to the U.S. State Department, the United States accounts for 34% of Colombia's total trade.
But the tariffs could also hurt American consumers: The U.S. imported $17.5 billion dollars' worth of goods from Colombia in 2024, according to Moody's Analytics.
Notably, Colombia is a top supplier of crude oil to the U.S.
Tariffs are a tax on imports that U.S. companies pay to import their goods, and the higher costs are largely passed on to consumers.
Petro responded to Trump's threatened sanctions late Sunday, saying in a post on X that Colombia will impose reciprocal 50% tariffs on U.S. goods.
âIâm told that you impose a 50% tariff on the fruits of our human labor to enter the United States, and I do the same,â Petro said in the impassioned post.
Later that evening, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson threatened in a post on X that Congress is "fully prepared" to pass sanctions and "other measures" against Colombia.
ABC News' Luis Martinez, Selina Wang and Nate Luna contributed to this report.
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