US, Colombia reach deal on deportations; tariff, sanctions put on hold

On Sunday, the U.S. and Colombia stepped back from the edge of a trade war after the White House announced that the South American country had consented to take military planes transporting deported migrants. U.S. President Donald Trump had proposed tariffs and sanctions on Colombia as punishment for its previous refusal to allow military flights transporting deportees in his extensive immigration crackdown.

However, in a statement issued late on Sunday, the White House announced that Colombia had ultimately consented to take in the migrants, and Washington would refrain from enforcing its proposed penalties. “The Government of Colombia has accepted all of President Trump’s conditions, which include the unrestricted acceptance of all undocumented individuals from Colombia sent back from the United States, including on U.S. military planes, without restriction or delay,” it indicated.

Proposed measures for imposing tariffs and sanctions on Colombia would be “kept on hold and not signed, unless Colombia does not comply with this agreement,” it stated. “Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump … expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States,” the White House statement said.

In a statement late on Sunday, Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said: “We have overcome the impasse with the U.S. government”. “The government of Colombia … has the presidential plane ready to facilitate the return of Colombians who were going to arrive in the country this morning on deportation flights.”

The statement did not explicitly mention that military flights were part of the agreement, yet it also did not oppose the White House announcement. Murillo and Colombia’s ambassador to the U.S. will head to Washington soon to continue discussions on agreements that resulted in the exchange of diplomatic notes between both governments, the Colombian statement noted.

Washington’s proposed actions, currently suspended, involve enacting 25% tariffs on all Colombian imports to the U.S., which would escalate to 50% within a week; a travel ban and visa cancellations for Colombian government officials; and emergency sanctions on treasury, banking, and financial activities.

Trump also warned that he would order increased border checks for Colombian citizens and goods. Prior to the announcement regarding the flights agreement, a State Department spokesperson indicated that the United States had halted visa processing at the U.S. embassy in Bogota. Colombia ranks as the third-largest trading partner of the U.S. in Latin America.

The United States is Colombia’s primary trading partner, mainly because of a free trade agreement from 2006 that led to $33.8 billion in bilateral trade in 2023 and a $1.6 billion trade surplus for the U.S., based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Alejo Czerwonko, chief investment officer for emerging markets Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, mentioned that Colombia depends on access to the U.S. market for approximately one-third of its exports, which accounts for around 4% of its GDP.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro previously criticized the military deportation flights and stated that he would never authorize a raid to send handcuffed Americans back to the U.S. However, he also mentioned that Colombia would accept deported migrants on civilian aircraft and proposed using his presidential plane to support their “dignified return.”

Trump labeled illegal immigration as a national emergency and has initiated a crackdown since he assumed office last Monday. He ordered the U.S. military to assist with border security, implemented a sweeping ban on asylum, and took measures to limit citizenship for children born in the U.S. Utilizing U.S. military planes for conducting deportation flights is uncommon. U.S. military planes conducted two flights, each transporting around 80 migrants, to Guatemala on Friday.

Last week, Mexico denied a request for a U.S. military plane to land with migrants. Trump stated that he is considering implementing 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico starting Feb. 1 to compel additional measures against illegal immigrants and fentanyl entering the U.S. On Saturday, Brazil’s foreign ministry denounced the “degrading treatment” of Brazilians after migrants were restrained with handcuffs on a commercial deportation flight. Upon landing, certain passengers additionally stated they experienced mistreatment during the flight, as per news reports.

The aircraft, transporting 88 Brazilian travelers, 16 U.S. security personnel, and eight crew members, was initially meant to land in Belo Horizonte in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. Nonetheless, during an unexpected halt caused by technical issues in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas, Brazilian authorities instructed the removal of the handcuffs, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva authorized a flight from the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) to finish their trip, the government announced in a statement on Saturday.

According to Brazil’s federal police, this commercial charter flight marked the second this year from the U.S. transporting undocumented migrants back to Brazil and the first since Trump’s inauguration. U.S. authorities did not respond to inquiries seeking comments regarding Brazil.