Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Colombia as deported migrant flights denied

US President Donald Trump said he would impose 25% tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after its president prevented two US military planes carrying deported migrants from landing in the country.

Trump said emergency tariffs “on all goods” coming into the United States from Colombia would be implemented “immediately,” and within one week the 25% tariff would be raised to 50%.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said earlier on Sunday that he had banned US military aircraft carrying deported migrants from entering Colombian territory.

Petro said he would “receive our citizens on civilian planes, without treating them as criminals,” and said the migrants must be returned “with dignity and respect.”

US officials told CBS News, the BBC’s partner in the US, that two military planes from San Diego were scheduled to land in Colombia on Sunday with deported migrants, but those plans were canceled due to complications.

In response, Trump announced “urgent and decisive retaliatory measures” in a post on TruthSocial. He said the United States would impose a travel ban and “immediate cancellation of visas” on Colombian government officials, as well as its allies and supporters.

Trump also said visa sanctions would be imposed on supporters of the Colombian government, and customs inspections and border protection would be enhanced “for all Colombian citizens and goods for national security reasons.”

Trump added that “these actions are just the beginning,” saying that his administration would not allow the Colombian government “to violate its legal obligations regarding the admission and return of criminals it has forced into the United States.”

The United States imports about 20% of the coffee it needs – worth nearly $2 billion – from Colombia, in addition to other commodities such as bananas, crude oil, avocados and flowers.

Tariffs will make it more expensive to import, which – if passed on to the consumer – could lead to higher coffee prices.

The sanctions imposed on the Colombian government and its supporters, and the apparent breakdown in diplomatic relations, are critical.

Christopher Landau, Trump’s pick for deputy secretary of state, said that “working with other countries to stop these migration flows” should be a “global imperative for American foreign policy.”

Every year tens of thousands of migrants from around the world, from India to China, head north toward the United States after landing in South America and traveling through Colombia, usually facilitated by criminal gangs.

There is no doubt that this step will make it difficult for the Trump administration to work with Colombia to stop this.

Petro also said on Sunday that more than 15,666 Americans are in Colombia illegally, a number the BBC has not been able to independently verify.

Petro said that unlike the Trump administration, he would “never” be seen carrying out a raid to turn back illegal American immigrants.

The dispute between the two countries comes at a time when the Trump administration has pledged to carry out “mass deportations.” The President signed several immigration-related executive orders on his first day in office.

Some of Trump’s executive orders were signed with the goal of expanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) ability to arrest and detain illegal immigrants on U.S. soil.

White House spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt said 538 people were arrested on Thursday alone.

For comparison, ICE detained more than 149,700 people in fiscal year 2024 under the Biden administration, which equates to an average of 409 per day.

Trump declared a national emergency at the Mexico border, ordered officials to deny citizenship to children of immigrants in the United States illegally or on temporary visas, and reimplemented the “Remain in Mexico” policy from his first term.

On Saturday, US Vice President JD Vance told CBS’ Face the Nation that he supports “law enforcement against violent criminals.”

“Just because immigrants founded us doesn’t mean that 240 years later we have to have the stupidest immigration policy in the world,” he told CBS’s Margaret Brennan.

Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar,” told ABC News on Sunday that the military is currently on the U.S.-Mexico border assisting with departures on military aircraft and building infrastructure to secure the border.

He added: “It sends a strong signal to the world: our borders are closed.”

Trump’s campaign focused on securing the southern border and reducing the number of illegal immigrants entering the United States.

Additional reporting by Ion Wells