The U.S. tariffs and sanctions were fully drafted but not yet signed, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
The United States has reached an agreement with Colombia, which will now accept all Colombian illegal immigrants being deported by the former country, including those on U.S. military planes, according to the White House.
As an understanding has been reached, Leavitt said, the United States will hold in reserve the 25 percent tariffs that were announced by Trump earlier on Sunday, “unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement.”
The tariffs and sanctions were fully drafted but not yet signed, she said.
The leaders of Colombia and the United States were considering escalating into a toe-to-toe tariff war on Sunday, when Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded to Trump’s announced tariff of 25 percent with his own 50 percent tariff.
Petro announced on the social media platform X that he was refusing to comply with the United States’ demands that he accept repatriated Colombians because “The U.S. cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals.”
“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump posted on his social media platform 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!”
Within a few hours, Petro announced a 50 percent tariff on all U.S. goods entering Colombia in response.
Petro Authorized, Then Canceled Flights: Rubio
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was unacceptable that Colombia refused the U.S. planes carrying their nationals from landing.
“It is the responsibility of each nation to take back their citizens who are illegally present in the United States in a serious and expeditious manner. … As demonstrated by today’s actions, we are unwavering in our commitment to end illegal immigration and bolster America’s border security.”
In a separate post, Petro said, “I will never allow Colombians to be brought in handcuffs on flights.”
“Marco, if officials from the foreign ministry allowed this, it would never be under my direction,” he said.
“A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves,” he wrote in a separate post. “That’s why I turned back the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants. … In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens.”
The State Department issued a notice Sunday night confirming that it has ordered the immediate suspension of U.S. visas at its embassy in the Colombian capital of Bogota, and was “authorizing travel sanctions on individuals and their families, who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations.”
“Measures will continue until Colombia meets its obligations to accept the return of its own citizens. America will not back down when it comes to defending its national security interests,” the notice said.
Leavitt said in her update that the visa sanctions issued by the State Department, as well as enhanced inspections from Customs and Border Protection, “will remain in effect until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.”
“Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again,” she said. “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.”
Colombia Sent Presidential Plane to Honduras
The Colombian president had earlier announced that he was sending his presidential plane to Honduras to pick up Colombian nationals who were deported there.
Petro said that his plane would facilitate the “dignified return of Colombian nationals who were to arrive in the country today in the morning hours, coming in from deportation flights.”
Petro also expressed confidence in Colombia’s ability to find other markets to absorb the impact of the U.S. tariffs.
“The ministry should help direct our exports to the whole world other than the U.S.,” he said in a post. “Our exports should be expanded. I invite all Colombian foreign communities to be marketers of our products.
“American products whose price will rise within the national economy must be replaced by national production, and the government will help in this regard.”
Colombia is America’s third-largest trading partner in Latin America. The United States mostly imports crude oil, cut flowers, and coffee from Colombia. Colombia mostly imports refined petroleum, corn, and soybean meal.
