Colombia Backs Down After Blocking US Military Deportation Flights
In a breaking story, Colombia has reportedly rejected deportation flights from the United States. President Trump has responded with an immediate 25% tariff on Colombian goods, imposed a travel ban.
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UPDATED
So many changes have transpired since this breaking story was first reported. Please see the current information dispersed throughout the original copy below.
Colombia Rejects Deportation Flights
In a developing story, Colombia rejected a pair of deportation flights from the United States on Sunday, January 26th. According to statements by the Department of Homeland Security about illegal immigration policy and procedure, those in the US illegally who have committed crimes would be sent back as the first priority.
Mexico rejected a pair of military aircraft from the United States earlier this week at a cost of nearly $900,000 to US taxpayers. Less than 100 deportees were on the flights to Mexico.
Trump Responds With 25% Tariff, Travel Ban
President Trump retaliated against turning the jets back to US shores by announcing a travel ban of diplomatic Colombian officials and a 25% tariff on Colombian imports. The country is the fourth largest coffee producer in the world and responsible for billions in crude petroleum exports to the United States.
“President Trump said his administration would immediately impose 25% tariffs on Colombian goods coming into the U.S., which he described as retaliation for Colombia rejecting two U.S. flights carrying migrants back home.”
“Trump responded in a social-media post that the tariffs would be raised to 50% in a week.”
”These measures are just the beginning,” Trump wrote. “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!”
– WSJ
Colombia Agrees To Terms
In less than an hour, Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, not only agreed to terms but sent his own presidential aircraft to Honduras to retrieve the deportees.
“The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’sterms, 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,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavittsaid in a statement emailed to The Hill late Sunday.” – The Hill
President Petro’s rejection of the aircraft is a curious one for a few reasons. Prior to departure, the US State Department had authorization from the Colombian government to operate the flights.
“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.” – CBS
Petro’s rejection of the flights once airborne not only cancelled the prior agreement, but it put the United States in a position for which it must respond strongly given the Mexico situation earlier in the week. But it’s also a departure from prior policy from Colombia who accepted 475 such flights from 2022 to 2024. Petro stated that it was the indignity of the arriving deportees that caused the issue, citing the use of handcuffs and lack of access to potable water onboard the flight operated by military jets.
“Colombia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement the country had “overcome the impasse” with the U.S., and said its foreign minister and ambassador would travel to Washington, D.C., “in the next few hours” to continue discussing the agreement.
“We will continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them dignified conditions, as citizens subject to rights,” the Foreign Ministry said.” – CBS
After accepting the deportees via Honduras, the US backed down on its 25-50% tariffs on Colombia. The country announced its ow retaliatory tariffs would be placed on US goods. While the US has issued a statement “holding [the tariff and sanction orders] in reserve” for the moment following compliance, at the time of writing it wasn’t clear if Colombia had also backed off its own tariff claims.
“In a late-night news conference, Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo announced that the two countries had “overcome the impasse” and that Colombia would accept returned citizens.
While Murillo did not directly refer to the White House statement, according to which Colombia had agreed to allow US military flights to take the deportees back, he did not deny it either.” – BBC
Safe Third Country
To overcome similar showdowns, El Salvador and the US are working on a deal that would allow the country to receive deportees on behalf of other countries.
“The Trump administration is developing an asylum agreement with El Salvador’s government that would allow the U.S. to deport migrants to the small Central American country who are not from there, two sources familiar with the internal deliberations told CBS News.
The arrangement, known as a “Safe Third Country” agreement, would empower U.S. immigration officials to deport non-Salvadoran migrants to El Salvador, blocking them from requesting asylum in the U.S. Instead, the migrants would be deported with instructions to seek asylum in El Salvador, which would be designated a “safe third country.” – CBS
The Safe Third model could prove to be a path forward.
Honduras
Honduras threatened to expel US troops who operate a handful of bases within the country in favor of closer relations with China should the deportation issue escalate further.
“Previously, on January 1, Honduran President Xiomara Castro warned that she would end the US military base in her country if, after taking office as US President on January 20, Donald Trump continued to pursue a policy of large-scale deportation of immigrants, including Hondurans.
According to statistics from the Honduran Government, there are currently about 2 million Honduran immigrants living and working in the United States, sending home an amount of remittances each year equivalent to 25% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of this country of 11.6 million people.
Meanwhile, according to data from the US Pew Research Center, as of 2023, there will be about 525,000 Hondurans residing without legal documents in the US, making this country the fifth largest country of origin for undocumented immigrants in the US, after Mexico, El Salvador, India and Guatemala.
There are currently about 250,000 Honduran immigrants on the US government’s deportation list in 2025, including plans to deport by land transit through Mexico and by air via direct flights between the US and Honduras. – Hai Duong
Conclusion
Mexico, in essence, got away with turning flights around and rejecting deportation flights with no such immediate retaliation but a February 1st deadline to reach a trade deal or face 25% tariffs remains in effect. President Trump has stated that such initial deportations were that of criminals and not asylum seekers or those with other legal immigrant status in the United States. Colombia and the US’ Sunday standoff could be a model for other countries to challenge the US position on deportation. However, it could also set off bilateral trade wars around the world.
What do you think?