WASHINGTON — An impasse between the United States and Colombia over Colombia’s refusal to accept deportation flights ended Monday, following a day in which each side threatened tariffs on the other and then backed down amid rushed negotiations.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro early Sunday turned back two U.S. military flights carrying deportees as part of President Trump’s plan to expel millions of migrants. Petro said he would receive deportees but only under “dignified conditions.”
In response, Trump said he was ordering a 25% tariff on all Colombian exports to the U.S. that would rise to 50% in a week if flights were not resumed. Trump also threatened a raft of visa restrictions and other financial punishment.
Petro responded, saying he too would slap tariffs on U.S. imports and adding to Trump: “Your blockade does not frighten me.”
The two sides rushed into late-night negotiations. Late Sunday, they agreed to a series of conditions and said the flights would resume. The White House said Petro had accepted all of Trump’s terms. Colombia said it had received assurances of the “dignified conditions” that Petro had demanded.
“Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again,” the White House said in a statement.
The flareup seemed unnecessary to many observers. Colombia has long been one of the United States’ most loyal allies in Latin America, and it has also received hundreds of deportation flights in recent years.
For Petro, a leftist, the red line appeared to have been the sudden use of military flights to carry out the expulsions. And he objected to Colombian nationals being treated “like criminals.” It was unclear if the agreement reached would return to the use of civilian aircraft, usually in the form of charters.
For Trump, the episode gave him a chance to show the rest of Latin America the risks they face if they do not fall in line with his deportation plan. Deportation flights have been going to Mexico and Guatemala as well.
Numerous countries in Latin America are attempting to figure out how to deal with the week-old Trump administration, pledging cooperation on some immigration issues but also seeking fair treatment and respect for their own national sovereignty.
“Colombia becomes a testing ground for the threat-forward approach to Latin America,” Will Freeman, an expert on Colombia at the Council on Foreign Relations, said on the X platform Sunday.
Trump’s threats included revoking U.S. visas from Colombian officials and denying visas to tens of thousands of other Colombians. The U.S. Embassy in Bogota said it was suspending all visa issuances.
Resistance to Trump’s immigration crackdown is percolating slowly as advocates and the courts grasp the exact nature of the administration’s plans. He has threatened to expel several million people, including some who are in the United States legally but temporarily.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sunday announced it had launched raids in Chicago aimed at preserving “public safety and national security” by rounding up immigrants.
ICE teamed up with the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and several other federal agencies. Raids were reported in other cities as well.
The first challenge to Trump’s immigration plan came swiftly, when a federal judge blocked the administration’s attempt to deny automatic U.S. citizenship to people born in the U.S.. Automatic, or birthright citizenship, is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. The judge, a Reagan appointee based in Seattle, granted a stay to block Trump’s plan.