The White House also suspended visa issuance at its consulate in Bogotá as part of its retaliation against the Colombian government.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered a 25% tariff on all Colombian products, after his counterpart in the Latin American country, Gustavo Petro, refused in recent hours to accept two flights with compatriots deported from the US.
"Petro's denial of these flights has endangered the national and public security of the United States (...) In one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network, in which he also announced other "urgent and decisive retaliatory measures" against Colombia.
According to the words of the US president himself in his latest publication, among the individuals who were intended to be deported to Colombia there were "a large number of criminals." In this sense, alluding to issues of "national security," he said that they would reinforce customs inspections and border protection against "Colombian shipments (of products)."
Sanctions against the Colombian government and reprisals against its entourage
The rest of the orders imposed by the US president this Sunday against the Colombian Executive are the "travel ban and immediate revocation of visas for Colombian government officials and all allies and supporters." In addition to visa sanctions for all members of the party (Colombia Humana), as well as for their relatives and sympathizers.
"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 who forced their way into the United States!" concluded the US president's post.
Petro demands "respect for migrants"
The Colombian president had said that he would not allow planes carrying citizens deported by the United States to enter the country if they do not receive dignified treatment and "with respect."
"A migrant is not a criminal and should be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves. That is why I turned back the US military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants," Petro said on the X network.
Colombia imposes 25% tariffs on the US
In response to Trump's trade sanctions, Petro ordered the Foreign Trade Ministry to impose the same 25% tariff on products from the US and invited his government to "direct" exports to other countries in the world.
According to a message from the Colombian presidency to journalists, the government arranged "the presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were to arrive in the country this morning from deportation flights."
Petro also said that more than 15,600 Americans living without the required documentation in Colombia "must" approach the immigration authorities to "regularize their situation."
The US suspends visa procedures in Bogota
Shortly after, the State Department announced the suspension of visa processing at the US embassy in Bogotá, in a new retaliation against the Colombian government.
The differences between the United States and Colombia, with whom the two flights with Colombian deportees had been agreed, also extend to other countries in the Latin American region that have disapproved of the procedures of what, according to Trump, will be "the largest mass expulsion operation of foreigners in the history of the United States."
