[News] Colombia turns away two US military flights with deportees

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/colombia-turns-away-two-us-military-flights-with-deportees>
Colombia turns away two US military flights with deportees
Al Mayadeen English
January 26, 2025
------------------------------

The decision mirrors that of Mexico, which declined a request last week to
allow a US military aircraft to land with migrants.

   - [image: Colombia turns away two US military flights with deportees]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/1/26/3c413611-26e0-475a-98b6-2f59f007d80a.png?width=1000>
   A US customs and border protection agent watches as undocumented immigrants
   are loaded onto a military plane in Arizona on January 23, 2025 (*AP*)

Colombia turned away two US military planes carrying migrants deported as
part of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown on Sunday, according
to a US official, in at least the second instance of a Latin American
country blocking US military deportation flights.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro denounced the practice, claiming it
treated migrants as criminals. In a post on X, he said his country would
welcome deported migrants back
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/trump-signs-executive-order-to-halt-illegal-immigration-thro>
on civilian flights, asserting that they should be treated with decency.

The decision mirrors that of Mexico
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/mexico-border-cities-mobilize-shelters-amid-trump-s-deportat>,
which declined a request last week to allow a US military aircraft to land
with migrants.

"The U.S. cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals," Petro wrote,
noting that there were 15,660 Americans with improper immigration status in
Colombia.

Petro's words add to the increased concern in Latin America as Trump's
government prepares for mass deportations
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/trump-to-use-military-force-for-mass-deportation-of-migrants>
.

Late on Saturday, Brazil's foreign ministry decried the "degrading
treatment" of Brazilian migrants after they were shackled aboard a
commercial deportation aircraft amid reports of abuse onboard.

According to Brazil's federal police, the commercial charter aircraft
carrying 88 Brazilians was the second from the US this year and the first
since Trump took office.

This is the first time recently that US military planes have been used to
carry migrants out of the nation, according to a US official. On Friday, US
military planes flew to Guatemala twice, each flight carrying around 80
migrants.

The move underscores the Trump administration's firm stance on immigration
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/trump-to-intensify-immigration-enforcement-shortly-after-ina>.
According to previous reports by *Reuters*, Trump is expected to mobilize
government agencies nationwide to achieve record deportation numbers,
building on his first-term efforts to leverage all available resources and
pressure so-called "sanctuary" jurisdictions into compliance.
Trump sanctions Colombia after defiance

US President Donald Trump issued broad tariffs and sanctions on Colombia on
Sunday in punishment for the country's refusal to accept deportation planes.

Trump, who has been back in office for less than a week, has announced that
he will put 25% tariffs on Colombian imports, which will grow to 50% in a
week.

His right to do so was questionable, considering Colombia, long one of
Washington's closest friends in Latin America, has a free-trade pact with
the US.

Trump also stated that he would immediately cancel visas for Colombian
government officials and "supporters" of President Gustavo Petro, as well
as subject Colombians to stricter airport screening.

On his social media platform Truth, Trump wrote this was "just the
beginning," adding that the US would 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!"
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