Photo: AFP
Under threats by President Donald Trump to allow the US to send home Colombians who've been in the US illegally, the President of Colombia appears to have backed down from a more adversarial stance, just hours after being confrontational.
The president of Colombia now says he's willing to allow his presidential jet to be used to return the citizens of his nation.
This written offer came Sunday afternoon after President Trump on Sunday morning threatened Colombia with steep tariffs because that nation refused US attempts to return those illegal migrants.
The Colombian leader's written remarks Sunday afternoon are of a different sort from his official comment Sunday morning, in which Colombian President Gustavo Petro appeared to be insulted that President Donald Trump referred to those Colombians being sent home from the US as "criminals."
There have been two incidents in which Colombian officials, reportedly on direct order from President Petro, have refused to allow the landing of US flights carrying Colombians home as part of President Trump's plan to discharge illegal immigrants from the US.
In retaliation, Mr. Trump announced emergency measures, saying, "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. This order was given by Colombia's Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people."
Trump went on to say that Petro's denial of the flights had "jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States."
Among the retaliatory measures the Trump administration is taking are an immediate travel ban and visa revocation for Colombian government officials, and their allies and supporters, a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods coming to the United States, visa sanctions, and financial sanctions.
Trump also says that if the situation doesn't change in one week, the 25% tariff will be doubled.
He finished the announcement by saying, "These measures are just the beginning. 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!"