The Japan Times - Trump slaps tariffs, sanctions as Colombia defies deportation push

Colombia's left-leaning President Gustavo Petro did not back down, announcing his own tariffs against US products, as he vowed that returning migrants be treated with dignity.

Trump, back in office for less than a week, promised to impose 25 percent tariffs on products from Colombia -- the source of one-fifth of coffee in the United States -- and to raise them to 50 percent in a week.

It was unclear how quickly the tariffs would come as Colombia, historically one of Washington's closest allies in Latin America, enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.

"These measures are just the beginning. 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!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Not to be outdone, Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, said he had instructed his minister for external trade "to raise tariffs on imports from the US to 25%."

In a long broadside on X addressed to Trump he declared: "You will never dominate us."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, days away from a trip to Latin America aimed at pushing Trump's agenda, said that the US embassy in Bogota was suspending all issuance of visas.

He also said he was imposing visa restrictions on Colombian officials and their immediate family members, with Trump vowing to subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at US airports.

- 'I forbid entry' -

Trump -- who during his campaign said that immigrants were "poisoning the blood" of the United States -- took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport undocumented people.

While some countries including Guatemala have accepted military deportation flights, Trump has faced resistance from Petro, elected in 2022 as the first left-wing leader of Latin America's fourth-largest economy.

"The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants," Petro wrote earlier on X.

Petro said he had "turned back US military planes." Trump said two US planes were not allowed to land.

The Colombian government said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport the migrants "with dignity."

Petro said he was also ready to allow civilian US flights carrying deported migrants to land, as long as those aboard were not treated "like criminals."

He additionally urged what he said were the more than 15,600 undocumented Americans living in his country to "regularize their situation," while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.

Petro's Colombian critics reacted furiously to what they saw as his reckless rumble with Trump.

Former right-wing president Ivan Duque accused Petro of "an act of tremendous irresponsibility" for refusing what he called Colombia's "moral duty" to take back illegal migrants and warned US sanctions would take an "enormous" toll.

- 'Tied hands and feet' -

Trump's deportation threats have put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the United States' estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.

Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday.

The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump's return, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called "flagrant disregard" for their basic rights.

Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: "On the plane they didn't give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn't even let us go to the bathroom."

"It was very hot, some people fainted."

The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, called for an urgent meeting of leaders from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to take place Thursday in Tegucigalpa to discuss migration following the latest US moves.

While previous US administrations also routinely carried out deportations, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.

K.Okada--JT