Trump holding off on tariffs after Colombia agrees to accept deported migrants on military planes, White House says
Washington — President Trump will hold off on imposing steep tariffs on Colombia after the country’s government agreed to accept deported migrants being returned on military planes, the White House said Sunday night.
Mr. Trump earlier on Sunday vowed swift and punishing retaliation after the Colombian government over the weekend blocked the arrival of deportation flights from the U.S., objecting to the Trump administration’s efforts to use military planes to deport migrants.
Mr. Trump posted on social media on Sunday that his administration would put in place several actions against Colombia, including a 25% tariff — that he said would be raised to 50% after one week — on all goods coming into the U.S. from Colombia.
He also announced a travel ban and “immediate visa revocation” for Colombian government officials and “their allies,” visa sanctions on Colombian authorities and their relatives and enhanced customs inspections on travelers and cargo from Colombia.
“These measures are just the beginning,” Mr. 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!”
But late Sunday night, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, “The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay. Based on this agreement, the fully drafted IEEPA tariffs and sanctions will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement.”
“The visa sanctions issued by the State Department, and enhanced inspections from Customs and Border Protection, will remain in effect until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned,” Leavitt’s statement said.
A senior administration official said Mr. Trump’s actions amounted to “a clear message” to countries that they “have an obligation to accept repatriation flights.”
Prior to Sunday nights announced agreement, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on social media “Your blockade doesn’t scare me,” and said Colombia would respond to the raised tariffs with a 50% tariff of its own on U.S. goods. In reference to the travel ban, Petro said, “I don’t really like traveling to the U.S., it’s a bit boring.”
Petro also predicted the U.S. could “try to carry out a coup with your economic strength and your arrogance, like they did with Allende. … Overthrow me, President, and the Americas and humanity will respond,” Petro wrote.
In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was Colombia’s responsibility to take back citizens who are illegally in the U.S. “in a serious and expeditious manner.”
“Colombian President Petro had authorized flights and provided all needed authorizations and then canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air,” Rubio said. “As demonstrated by today’s actions, we are unwavering in our commitment to end illegal immigration and bolster America’s border security.”
Later Sunday, the State Department confirmed Rubio had “ordered a suspension of visa issuance at the U.S. Embassy Bogota consular section.”
“Secretary Rubio is now authorizing travel sanctions on individuals and their families, who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations,” the State Department said. “Measures will continue until Colombia meets its obligations to accept the return of its own citizens. America will not back down when it comes to defending its national security interests.”
A U.S. official told CBS News that U.S. Customs and Border Protection was already implementing a travel ban on Colombian government officials and diplomats traveling with what are known as A and G visas as of Sunday night. The agency had also started enhanced customs inspections on cargo from Colombia, the official added. CBP later confirmed those actions in a public statement.
Earlier on Sunday, Petro said he rejected the deportation flights because the deportees were being transported in military aircraft, arguing such a move treated migrants as criminals.
Rebecca Blackwell / AP
“The United States must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them,” Petro wrote on social media. He added that he would accept deportation flights, as long as they were conducted on civilian planes.
A U.S. official told CBS that the Colombian migrants who were scheduled to be deported on Sunday on these planes are back in the U.S. and will remain in DHS custody until a new agreement is reached.
Two U.S. officials told CBS News there were two Department of Defense planes with migrant deportees expected to land in Colombia on Sunday, after departing the San Diego area near the southern border. But those plans were scrapped overnight.
One of the U.S. officials said the plan was to deport roughly 80 Colombian migrants on each military plane.
Colombia’s government has offered the use of its presidential plane to help facilitate the return of the migrants, but a senior Trump administration official said that would not be enough to stave off Mr. Trump’s proposed tariffs and sactions.
Colombia’s decision to block the U.S. deportation flights over the weekend is an early diplomatic setback for the Trump administration as it lays the foundation for its promised mass deportation campaign and crackdown on illegal immigration.
As part of that crackdown, President Trump has moved to vastly increase the role the U.S. military plays in immigration enforcement, declaring a national emergency to deploy an additional 1,500 Army soldiers and Marines to the southern border. The troops have been assigned to erect border barriers and help Customs and Border Protection in an operational capacity. Long-standing legal limits bar the use of soldiers for the civil enforcement of laws, including U.S. immigration law.
Earlier in the week, the administration used military aircraft to deport Guatemalan migrants who had crossed the southern border illegally back to Guatemala, publicizing the move as the start of their mass deportation effort.
contributed to this report.
