The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, initially defiant, challenged Donald Trump by stating: “We are peoples of the winds, the mountains, the Caribbean Sea, and of freedom... Tumbeme president and the Americas and humanity will respond.” However, hours later, in a surprising reversal, an agreement was reached with Trump to receive deported migrants, thus postponing the invitation to whisky.
Trump, for his part, criticized Colombian criminals by labeling them as “very nice people,” but despite that, he appreciated the people of Colombia and valued Petro's government for withdrawing its harsh rhetoric. Nevertheless, he reiterated his commitment to deport all undocumented migrants in the United States regardless of diplomatic tensions.
The crisis between Colombia and the United States led to an exchange of tariff orders. Following Petro's refusal to receive the planes with deported migrants, Trump threatened to impose tariffs of 25 percent on Colombia, warning that they could increase to 50 percent within a week. In turn, Petro responded by raising tariffs on U.S. imports.
The United States is an important trading partner for Colombia, which exports products such as refined oil, gold, aluminum, coal, coffee, and flowers to the North American country. Trump stated that Colombia intensely requested apologies after his threat of tariffs.
The reason for Petro's refusal to receive the planes with deported migrants was the inadequate treatment they received, as they were handcuffed at hands and feet. Trump insisted that all deportees were criminals, to which the Colombian government opposed. After several hours of diplomatic tension, a resolution to the conflict between the two countries was reached.
In the midst of this confrontation, Petro responded to Trump in a peculiar way. Self-designating as the last of the Buendías, in reference to Gabriel García Márquez's character, he challenged Trump to attempt a coup. Despite the exchange of statements, the tensions seem to have eased between Colombia and the United States.
