Petro Reculates: Send presidential plane to the US to transport deportees but increases tariffs

Bogotà – The Colombian government announced this Sunday that it will send its presidential plane to the United States to transport irregular migrants that the administration of President Donald Trump He was going to deport on military aircraft that Bogotá blocked the entrance.

“The Government of Colombia, under the direction of President Gustavo Petro, The presidential plane has arranged to facilitate the return of the nationals who were going to arrive today in the country in the morning, from deportation flights, “according to a message from the presidency sent to journalists.

The Colombian ruler reculled and made available to the Deported His presidential plane after Trump imposed tariffs and visa restrictions on Colombia after Petro’s refusal to accept the deportees, despite the fact that Colombia previously authorized and had approved flights to the highest levels of the government.

Petro elevates tariffs to the US

And in a last minute decision, Petro also informed that he imposes 25% of tariffs on imports of Colombian products that the United States performs, in response to the strong measures announced by President Donald Trump.

In principle, the leftist president published in his account X that the increase in tariffs would be 50%, but then modified his publication and specified in another message that ordered the Ministry of Foreign Trade “to raise import tariffs from the US in 25 %, “the AFP agency found.

Colombia and the United States signed a year ago, before the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House, a new protocol for the return of Colombians that accelerated the process and expanded the frequency of flights, up to about four per month.

But on Sunday Petro prevented the landing of two military flights with deported migrants. Trump announced a series of sanctions that later changed their opinion to the Colombian ruler.

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“They just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of illegal criminals, could not land in Colombia. This order was given by the socialist president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular among his People.

He then announced that his administration has arranged immediate measures to retaliate “urgent and decisive” such as the increase in emergency tariffs of 25% over all goods that enter the United States. In a week, tariffs will rise from 25% to 50%.

The sanctions They include the prohibition of travel and immediate visas revocations to Colombian government officials and all allies and supporters.

Rubio: US does not allow lies

In this context, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, emphasized Petro that the new administration will not allow him to lie or take advantage of the United States.

The Colombian president Petro had authorized flights and provided all the necessary authorizations and then canceled his authorization when the airplanes were in the air. . “We are unwavering in our commitment to end illegal immigration and reinforce the border security of the United States,” he said in his official network X.

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Likewise, the United States designates the suspension of visas to all members of the Petro party, family and supporters of the Colombian government; exhaustive customs inspections and border protection for all Colombian citizens and the burden from that country for national security reasons.

In addition to the total imposition of tax, banking and financial sanctions of the IEEPA (acronym in English of the International Emergency Emergency Powers Law).

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VISA SECTION CLOSURE

An hour before, the United States embassy in Bogotá announced the closure of its visa section as of Monday, January 27.

“In response to President Petro’s refusal to accept two flights with Colombian deportees, which the president had previously authorized and that had been approved at the highest levels of the government, the United States embassy in Colombia will close the visas section tomorrow. In addition, additional retaliation measures will be implemented, “sources from the embassy cited by various Colombian media explained.

Fear of US military planes?

He later argued that he rejected the planes because “a migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves” and because they were military airplanes. “In civil airplanes, without criminals we will receive our nationals. Colombia is respected,” he wrote in his account in X.

However, before these messages, Petro had published another announced the arrival of two of these flights in which invited people to receive repatriated “with flags and flowers“However, the message was erased minutes later and replaced by the final.

“At 6.45 AM, the first plane with Colombian deportees in the United States will arrive. Another plane will reach 10 am, let’s receive them with flags and flowers,” said the original message, whose screenshot has been published on social networks.

Once the measure was announced, Petro caught attention to the presence of 15,660 Americans established in Colombia, according to him, irregularly. “” They must approach our immigration service to regularize their situation, “he announced.