NEWS

US, Colombia Wage Tariff War After Petro Blocks Trump’s Deportation Flights

Colombia has retreated from a potential trade conflict with the United States just hours after President Donald Trump threatened the country with tariffs and visa restrictions for refusing entry to U.S. military aircraft carrying deported migrants.

The reversal late Sunday followed an earlier announcement by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who had vowed to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports and refused to accept deported migrants without assurances of “dignity and respect.”

In a late-night news conference, Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said officials had “overcome the impasse” and would accept citizens deported from the US.

A White House statement said Colombia had agreed to all of Trump’s terms, including “unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay”.

“Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again,” the White House said.

‘You will never rule us’

Washington and Bogota had been poised for a damaging trade war after Trump announced he would hit Colombian imports with a 25 percent “emergency” tariff, rising to a 50 percent tariff from next week, in response to Petro’s refusal to accept the deportation flights.

Trump also said he would impose a “travel ban and immediate visa revocations” and “visa sanctions” on government officials, as well as their family members and supporters, and enhance border inspections of all Colombian nationals and cargo.

“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 said on his social media network Truth Social.

Trump later posted an image appearing to show himself wearing a pinstripe suit and a fedora while standing in front of a sign reading “FAFO”, an acronym for “f*** around and find out”.

Petro swiftly responded to Trump’s announcement by promising to impose retaliatory tariffs of up to 50 percent.

In a lengthy diatribe on X, Petro, a former member of the leftist M-19 armed rebel movement, said he did not like travelling to the US as it is “a bit boring”, though he acknowledged his appreciation for Walt Whitman, Paul Simon and Noam Chomsky.

“My land is made up of goldsmiths who worked in the time of the Egyptian pharaohs and of the first artists in the world in Chiribiquete,” Petro said.

“You will never rule us. The warrior who rode our lands, shouting freedom, who is called Bolivar, opposes us.”

Petro had said earlier he had refused the deportation flights to send a message that the US “cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals”.

“I cannot allow migrants to remain in a country that does not want them; but if that country sends them back, it must be with dignity and respect for them and for our country,” he said in a post on X, which included news footage showing deportees in Brazil at an airport with their hands and feet restrained.

……….

Note : To submit Press Releases, Statements, and Advert Inquiries for publication on Waffi blog (website) or Television 📺, please use the following contact details: You can send an email to info@waffitv.com or reach us via Whatsapp at 07068286500

Related posts

Mulade Praises Tompolo, Tonlagha, Pondi, Others On Riverine Development

admin

Reps Move To Stop SIECs From Conducting LG Polls

admin

Supreme Court Victory: Izeze Congratulates Oborevwori

Waffi Tv

Leave a Comment