A war of words broke out today between US President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, after Bogotá blocked two deportation flights loaded with Colombian migrants. Trump hit Colombia with sanctions while Petro fired back, saying the US “will never rule us.”
The White House later announced the suspension of sanctions after Colombia agreed to certain terms. Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo later confirmed Bogotá will keep receiving its returning countrymen. However, the blocked flights and Petro’s pointed remarks augur a tense relationship between the two nations.
Trump had won the election with a tough stance on immigration, but that puts him at odds with Latin American neighbors who worry about the treatment of migrants. Petro, a leftist who took office in 2022, echoed that criticism, saying the US shouldn’t treat Colombian migrants as if they were criminals. His administration even offered to send a presidential plane to the US to transport the deportees “with dignity.”
Following the military flights being rejected, Petro appeared to open the door for civilian flights to land, providing that deportees were treated respectfully. He emphasized that more than 15,000 undocumented Americans live in Colombia but said no raids will be conducted for their arrest, instead calling them to “regularise their situation.”
Such a stance from Petro was criticized domestically, especially by the former right-wing President Ivan Duque, who stated that it is “irresponsible” and underlined Colombia’s moral duty to receive illegal migrants. Duque emphasized that US sanctions could be very painful for the country.
In a post on his TruthSocial platform, Trump blasted the Petro move as one that put US national security in danger. He imposed a 25 percent tariff on goods from Colombia, which he said would double to 50 percent within a week and added that there would be a travel ban and visa revocation for Colombian officials. Trump ordered heightened searches of all Colombian nationals and cargo, adding that this is just the beginning.
Hours later, Petro replied on X that Trump’s threats meant nothing and that he was more concerned with greed than with humanity. He dared Trump to stage a coup, likening the situation to interventions in Latin America throughout history. Petro said Colombia would not be run by “slavers” and referred to the rich cultural heritage of his country, mentioning names from Gabriel Garcia Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.
The response of Petro underlined Colombian self-determination: “You will never rule us,” he said, while reinforcing the nation’s identity as “the heart of the world.”
