U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed visa and economic sanctions on Colombia, President Gustavo Pedro, relatives and members of his party after the country’s leader denied entry to two American planes transporting deportees back to the South American nation.
“I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia,” Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“l have directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures,” he added.
Mr Pedro had, in a post on X earlier on Sunday, confirmed that he denied entry to two flights from the United States carrying deportees, that “the US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals so he made the decision to “deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory.”
“The United States must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them,” Mr Pedro added.
In retaliatory response, Mr Trump accused Colombia of jeopardising the national security of his country and subsequently imposed visa restrictions on members of Mr Pedro’s cabinet, his family members and supporters.
He also imposed a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming into the U.S. from Colombia, adding that the tariffs would increase to 50 per cent after one week.
Mr Trump also directed enhanced customs and border protection inspections of all Colombian nationals and cargo on national security grounds.
