Colombia Agrees to Resume Deportation Flights from the United States

What Happened?

Early Sunday Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro posted on social media that he had denied entry to U.S. aircraft carrying Colombian nationals being deported from the United States.

After Colombia denied entry to the U.S. flights, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on all Colombian goods and to stop issues visas to anyone in Colombia wishing to travel to the United States.

Mr. Trump also threatened to revoke visas of Colombian government officials.

Shortly after the White House issued the tariff and visa threats, Colombia’s President relented and agreed to allow the resumption of flights carrying deportees from the U.S. to Colombia. 

Why it Matters

Colombia has long been a key U.S. ally in Latin America. The two countries have a longstanding bilateral agreement permitting the return of Colombian nationals via aircraft who have been deported from the United States.

Cooperation with Colombia has been crucial to the fight against narco-trafficking for the past decade.

Under the terms of that bilateral agreement, the United States typically sends Colombia a manifest 48 hours in advance of the flights with the names of the deportees, and Colombia provides authorization before the planes take off.

According to a Colombian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the sensitive issue to the Washington Post, that happened this time and Bogotá agreed to accept the flight.

Mr. Petro issued his denial of landing permission after he viewed a video of the deportees being marched onto a military aircraft prior to the flight to Colombia. It is unclear why Mr. Petro was unaware that the planes being used were U.S. military C-17s, though he claimed the reason for his action was to prevent deportees from being treated unfairly.

The tariffs threatened by President Trump could have imposed significant costs on Colombia’s economy. Specifically, the tariffs could have increased the price of flowers, a major Colombian export, just weeks before Valentines Day. They also could have increased the price of coffee for American consumers.

The Colombian government appears eager to put the brief dispute behind them. According to the Washington Post:

‘Luis Gilberto Murillo, Colombia’s foreign minister, and the Colombian ambassador to the United States will hold a series of high-level meetings after the agreements between the two countries. Murillo said the meetings will take place in the coming days to follow up on an “exchange of diplomatic notes” between the two governments.’

How it Affects You

The Trump Administration has begun by cracking down on illegal immigration, as Mr. Trump promised to do during the election.

But the brief dispute with Colombia is not an isolated incident, as Mexico has also refused to grant permission for flights carrying deportees. The situation underscores the need for cooperation with Latin American countries.

Without it they could simply continue to deny entry to deportees or just allow them to go right back to the United States. The quick change of action by Colombia’s President under the threat of tariffs gives credibility to Mr. Trump’s claims that tariffs can bring results, though whether such threats will work every time remains to be seen.