Colombia has agreed to accept deportation flights from the U.S.
The government of Colombia has agreed to the demands of U.S. President Donald Trump on unconditional acceptance of migrants deported by the U.S. side. This is stated by Bloomberg on January 26 with reference to White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt.
"Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump's conditions, including unrestricted admission of all illegal immigrants from Colombia returning from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without restrictions or delays," said Livitt.
If U.S. demands are met, the tariffs and sanctions previously imposed on Bogota will not go into effect.
At the same time, increased border controls and sanctions on officials will remain in place until the country receives its first migrants.
Earlier in the day, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that the country's authorities will raise duties on imports from the United States by 25% in response to the sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump. Petro noted that the country will now export goods to all countries in the world except the United States.
The U.S. imposed sanctions and duties of 25% on all goods from Colombia for Bogota's refusal to accept a plane carrying deported migrants. In addition, Trump has banned travel and revoked visas for Colombian government officials and their allies and supporters. Visa sanctions are also being imposed on all party members, family members and supporters of the Colombian government.
Prior to this, Petro said Colombia was refusing to accept U.S. airplanes carrying deportable Colombians. He said it was necessary to establish a protocol to treat the migrants with dignity before Colombia would start accepting them again. It was later reported that Colombia had deployed two US military planes bound for the Latin American country with about 160 deportable migrants on board.
Earlier, on January 22, Trump restricted the right of illegal migrants who entered the United States through the southern border. He directed the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the State Department to take all necessary steps to immediately repel, repatriate and remove illegal immigrants across the country's southern border.
