US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he was ordering tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures against Colombia after its government refused to take two flights carrying illegal immigrants.
Trump said the measures were necessary because Colombian President Gustavo Petro's decision "endangered" US national security.
"These measures are just the beginning," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. "We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations regarding the acceptance and return of criminals they forced to come to the United States," he added.
Earlier Sunday, Petro said his government would not accept flights carrying deported immigrants from the U.S. until the Trump administration establishes a protocol that treats them with “dignity.” Petro made the announcement in two X-rated posts, one of which included a news video of deported immigrants in Brazil walking down a runway with chains on their hands and feet.
"The immigrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves," Petro said. "That's why I turned back the American military planes carrying Colombian immigrants."
Petro added that his country would welcome the Colombians with "civilian planes" and "without treatment as criminals."
As part of a series of actions to fulfill US President Donald Trump's campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his government is using the active military to help secure the border and carry out deportations.
Two Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying migrants deported from the U.S. crashed early Friday in Guatemala. That same day, Honduras received two deportation flights carrying a total of 193 people.