BOGOTÁ (AP) — Two Colombian Air Force planes arrived in Bogotá on Tuesday with several citizens deported from the United States, two days after the diplomatic conflict between the governments of both countries following President Gustavo Petro’s initial refusal to accept military aircraft with migrants, which led to threats from Donald Trump.
The Colombian foreign ministry reported in a statement that a total of 201 Colombians arrived on the two flights. One of the planes came from El Paso, Texas, and the second one from San Diego, California.
According to El Tiempo de Bogotá, the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) stated that 26 boys and girls were on the flights traveling as deportees from the United States.
One of the people on board one of their flights said that they had illegally entered the United States a week ago, that they wanted to seek asylum, and that they had been detained in California.
What did Petro say about the arrival of the deportees?
Petro referred to the deported individuals on his X account as Colombian "free and dignified and they are in their homeland where they are loved." He added that "the migrant is not a criminal, they are a human being who wants to work and progress, to live their life."
Petro's government announced yesterday the dispatch of at least one official aircraft to pick up a group of Colombian migrants on US territory, following the tension with the United States.
Petro's refusal to receive deported flights on military planes on Sunday generated the rejection of U.S. President Donald Trump, who ordered a 25% tariff on all Colombian products, which would be increased to 50% in a week.
In response, Petro also warned of imposing tariffs on American products.
The tension between the two countries decreased after the White House reported that the Colombian government had accepted all of Trump's terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal foreigners from Colombia returned from the United States.
The previous announcement of a mutual increase in tariffs worried economic sectors in Colombia, especially flower and coffee growers, given that the United States is their largest trading partner and the main destination for their exports, accounting for 29% according to official figures.
The United States is the main destination country for Colombians. Last year, 1.6 million Colombians traveled to that country, representing 25% of all travelers, according to the Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism.
In addition to flowers, Colombia exports coffee, manufactured goods, fruits, and hydrocarbons to the United States.