Trump claims victory in tariff and migration standoff with Colombia

White House

Trump claims victory in tariff and migration standoff with Colombia

 

Hours after threatening punitive tariffs, the White House said Colombia agreed to accept deported migrants and lifted the threat of new levies.

 

By Myah Ward

01/26/2025 10:50 PM EST

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/26/trump-claims-victory-colombia-tariffs-00200680

 

The White House said late Sunday that the government of Colombia has agreed to take deportation flights of migrants from the country, hours after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs and visa restrictions.

 

Migrants will be returned to Colombia on military aircraft “without limitation and delay,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

 

The late-night declaration of victory by the White House caps a tumultuous day of threats lobbed back and forth between the countries’ two leaders on social media. The showdown, less than one week into Trump’s second term, previewed one of the major challenges he will face in implementing his sweeping immigration agenda, as he works to increase the number of deportations.

 

The White House said the emergency tariffs and sanctions Trump threatened earlier in the day were fully drafted and will be held — but not signed — unless Colombia does not uphold the agreement. The visa sanctions imposed by the State Department, as well as increased inspections from Customs and Border Protection, will remain in place until the first plane of Colombian migrants are returned.

 

“Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation’s sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States,” Leavitt said.

 

Colombian President Gustavo Petro reposted the press secretary’s statement on X.

 

The spat started after Petro turned away two U.S. military aircraft full of detained Colombian migrants, calling for a “dignified return” of deportees not “handcuffed and on military craft.” Trump quickly responded with a post on X, saying he was hitting the country with an emergency 25 percent tariff on all goods imported from Colombia, visa restrictions, a travel ban, enhanced border patrol inspections and financial sanctions.