Donald Trump's threats work after Colombia backs down and agrees to accept deported migrants from US

26 January 2025, 19:29 | Updated: 27 January 2025, 05:29

Donald Trump has won a battle with Colombia after threatening a trade war when the country refused to accept deported migrants.

The US president said he would retaliate with "urgent and decisive" measures - including 25% emergency tariffs on Colombian goods - after the country turned away two US military planes.

Onboard were migrants being deported from America as part of Mr Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown.

But in a statement on Sunday, the White House said Colombia had backed down.

"The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump's terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay," it said.

The US leader previously said Colombian president Gustavo Petro's action "jeopardised the national security and public safety of the United States" in a statement on Truth Social.

The initial response from the Colombian president was bullish. He threatened to respond with 50% tariffs on goods from the US, telling Mr Trump in a post on X: "Your blockade does not scare me, because Colombia, besides being the country of beauty, is the heart of the world."

Mr Trump posted a defiant message online: "We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!"

His post was quickly followed by an AI-generated image showing the president in a fedora hat, alongside a sign reading FAFO, which usually stands for "f*** around, find out".

In a statement late on Sunday, Colombian foreign minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said: "We have overcome the impasse with the US government".

The White House statement added that draft orders, imposing tariffs and sanctions on Colombia, would be "held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honour this agreement".

There was also a warning to other countries. "Today's events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump... expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States."

Before backing down, President Petro had demanded migrants deported by the US should be treated with dignity and respect.

"The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals," Mr Petro wrote on X, noting that there were 15,660 Americans without proper immigration status in Colombia.

Colombia's decision to block military migrant flights follows a similar one by Mexico, which refused a request to let a US military aircraft land with migrants on Thursday.

There is growing discontent in South American countries as Mr Trump's week-old administration begins mass deportations.