The White House confirmed Sunday that Colombia has agreed to accept repatriated citizens from the United States on military flights, following a threat of major sanctions from President Donald Trump.
This marks a significant shift in Colombia’s stance on the issue of deportations, which had previously sparked tensions between the two countries.
While there was no immediate confirmation from the Colombian government, the White House announced that Colombia had agreed to accept “unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay.”
The statement from the White House further emphasized that these developments demonstrated that “America is respected again.”
The U.S. government had previously threatened to impose tariffs and sanctions on Colombia, Latin America’s fourth-largest economy, unless the country accepted deported nationals on military flights.
In response, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a leftist leader, had resisted the idea of using military planes for deportations. He had expressed his willingness to repatriate migrants “with dignity,” proposing civilian flights as an alternative.
However, under the threat of U.S. sanctions, Petro’s administration has now backed down.
The White House statement noted that President Trump remains committed to defending U.S. sovereignty and will continue to press other nations to cooperate in the repatriation of their citizens who are illegally residing in the U.S.
The diplomatic conflict over deportations has been part of broader tensions between the U.S. and some Latin American countries over immigration policies.
The resolution of this standoff, however, signals a brief victory for the Trump administration’s stance on illegal immigration and deportation practices.