(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) President Donald Trump’s threat of emergency tariffs made Colombia dance Sunday to the tune of the one-week-old U.S. leader’s demand for compliance with his mass deportation plan.
Upon learning that Colombia’s “socialist” president prevented two U.S. flights filled with illegal migrants to land in the country, Trump ordered his administration to impose 25% tariffs, a travel ban, visa revocation, and various sanctions on Colombia.
My @cnn thoughts on Trump tonight: he simply skipped directly to the “F around and find out portion of this conversation.” Whether you are the president of Colombia or a random illegal immigrant, the message is clear: do not test us. pic.twitter.com/QteYUPeA44
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) January 27, 2025
“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump wrote in his announcement on Truth Social. “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!”
The White House revealed that within hours after America’s trade war warning, the Colombian government “agreed to all of President Trump’s terms” including deportation flights. Colombian President Gustavo Petro reposted a statement by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, signifying his compliance with Trump’s demands.
“The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of illegal aliens from Columbia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay. Based on this agreement, the fully drafted IEEPA tariffs and sanctions will be held in reverse, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement,” the statement read in part.
🚨The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms pic.twitter.com/mQocusSGOC
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 27, 2025
But Colombia is not off the hook just yet as sanctions issued by the State Department and enhanced inspections from Customs and Border Protection will “remain in effect until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned,” according to the White House.
The statement revoked Trump’s tariffs, which would have increased from 25% to 50% after one week. However, it affirmed they would be put in place if Colombia fails to comply with the U.S.
Although Gustavo initially agreed to go as far as send his presidential plane to help deport illegal migrants from the U.S., the Colombian leader did not refrain from puffing out his chest on the world stage.
After calling travel to the U.S. “a bit boring,” Gustavo told Trump in a multi-paragraph rant on social media, “You will never rule us.”
Trump, a mi no me gusta mucho viajar a los EEUU, es un poco aburridor, pero confieso que hay cosas meritorias, me gusta ir a los barrios negros de Washington, allí ví una lucha entera en la capital de los EEUU entre negros y latinos con barricadas, que me pareció una pendejada,…
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 26, 2025
He compared Americans under Trump to slaveholders and made the bizarre claim that Trump sees him as an “inferior race.”
“Your blockade does not scare me, because Colombia, besides being the country of beauty, is the heat of the world,” Gustavo wrote before adding, “I do the same,” in response to Trump’s threat of tariffs.
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
