SWEEPING CRACKDOWN
Trump declared illegal immigration a national emergency and imposed a sweeping crackdown since taking office last Monday. He directed the US military to help with border security, issued a broad ban on asylum and took steps to restrict citizenship for children born on US soil.
Colombia’s Petro condemned the practice on Sunday, suggesting it treated migrants like criminals. In a post on social media platform X, Petro said Colombia would welcome home deported migrants on civilian planes.
“The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals,” Petro wrote.
Petro said even though there were 15,660 Americans without legal immigration status in Colombia, he would never carry out a raid to return handcuffed Americans to the US
“We are the opposite of the Nazis,” he wrote.
Mexico also refused a request last week to let a US military aircraft land with migrants.
Trump did not take similar action against Mexico, the largest US trading partner, but has said he was thinking about imposing 25 per cent duties on imports from Canada and Mexico on Feb 1 to force further action against illegal immigrants and fentanyl flowing into the US.
The US is Colombia’s largest trading partner, largely due to a 2006 free trade agreement, with US$33.8 billion worth of two-way trade in 2023 and a US$1.6 billion US trade surplus, according to US Census Bureau data.
The biggest US imports from Colombia that year were crude oil, gold, coffee, and cut roses. Top US exports to Colombia were gasoline and other petroleum products, commercial aircraft, corn, crude oil and soybeans.
“Petro’s finding out that tweets have consequences. He’s not (facing) a US counterpart that looks at Colombia through a strategic lens, as a key ally, but as a country to make an example of,” said Sergio Guzman, director of consultancy Colombia Risk Analysis. Guzman added that financial sanctions could be economically crippling.
Alejo Czerwonko, chief investment officer for emerging markets Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, said Colombia relied on access to the US market for about a third of its exports, or about 4 per cent of its GDP.
“In addition, the Petro-Trump relationship has started off on the wrong foot, which could signal additional challenges ahead,” Czerwonko told Reuters.
GROWING DISCONTENT
Petro’s comments add to the growing chorus of discontent in Latin America as Trump’s week-old administration starts mobilising for mass deportations.
Brazil’s foreign ministry late on Saturday condemned “degrading treatment” of Brazilians after migrants were handcuffed on a commercial deportation flight. Upon arrival, some of the passengers also reported mistreatment during the flight, according to local news reports.
The plane, which was carrying 88 Brazilian passengers, 16 US security agents, and eight crew members, had been originally scheduled to arrive in Belo Horizonte in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais.
