By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-01-26 21:41:03 | Updated at 2025-01-30 07:14:22
3 days ago
Donald Trump has secured a deportations breakthrough after Colombia's president offered his own plane to help take back illegal migrants from his country.
A statement from president Gustavo Petro said he had "arranged the presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots" - a U-turn on his earlier vow to block the returns flights.
Just this weekend, Petro had rejected two planes' worth of Colombian illegal migrants, saying: "I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory.
"The United States must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them," he added, and warned that the US cannot "treat Colombian migrants as criminals".
Trump then threatened Colombia with a series of hard-hitting tariff hikes
REUTERS
It remains to be seen how Trump will respond to the offer of the presidential plane.
But as he introduced the tariffs, he said: "These measures are just the beginning.
"We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!"
