Colombia sends air force planes to pick up migrants deported from US
A Colombian Air Force plane departed San Diego today with 110 deported Colombian immigrants. A second plane departed from Houston, Texas.
The development comes after clashes erupted between Washington and Bogota on Sunday, when Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused to allow Colombian migrants to be deported by U.S. military planes. Petro called it a lack of respect, VOA reports.
After his refusal, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Colombia, and the Colombian president said he would retaliate in kind.
But it wasn't long before the two countries announced that they had reached an agreement to calm the situation.
Gustavo Petro said Colombian migrants will travel "without handcuffs," on Colombian Air Force planes.
"This provision, dignity for deportees, will apply to all countries that deport them," he said.
Since taking office, President Trump has moved swiftly to carry out deportations, one of his campaign promises.
He said on Monday that if countries do not immediately accept their migrants "they will pay a very high economic price and we will immediately impose massive tariffs on them."
Unlike Colombia, Guatemala has received several US Air Force planes carrying migrants from this country deported by the United States in recent days.
The last flight took place on Monday with the return of 64 migrants from Guatemala.
Deportations of immigrants from the United States are nothing new. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency conducts hundreds of flights each year.
