"One Day, Over A Glass Of Whiskey...": Colombia President Targets Trump

US President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro traded barbs earlier today after Bogota blocked two deportation flights carrying Colombian migrants back to the Latin American country. While Trump cracked down with sanctions against Colombia, Petro responded in kind and said the US "will never rule us".

The White House later said the Trump administration suspended the sanctions after Colombia agreed to its terms. Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said Bogota will continue receiving Colombians who return as deportees. Colombia has backed down, for now, but its blocking of the flights and Petro's sharp attack on Trump signal the beginning of a rocky relationship between the two governments. 

Why Petro Blocked Deportation Flights

Trump has come to power on the promise of deporting illegal migrants swiftly. As he tries to put the plan into action, he is facing resistance from the US' Latin American neighbours, who have questioned the treatment of the migrants.

Petro, a Left leader elected Colombian President in 2022, has said the US "cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals". His government said it was ready to send its presidential plane to the US to transport the migrants "with dignity". After the US military planes were sent back, Petro said he was ready to allow civilian US flights carrying deported migrants to land as long as those aboard were not treated "like criminals". He said over 15,000 undocumented Americans are living in his country, but ruled out raids to arrest and deport them. Instead, he urged them to "regularise their situation".

The Colombian President has faced resistance at home for his pushback against the Trump administration. Former right-wing president Ivan Duque has accused Petro of "an act of tremendous irresponsibility". Duque has said it was Colombia's "moral duty" to take back illegal migrants and warned that US sanctions would take an "enormous" toll on the country.

Trump's All-Out Attack On Petro

On his TruthSocial platform, Trump said he had been informed that two repatriation flights with a large number of "illegal criminals" were not allowed to land in Colombia. "This order was given by Colombia's Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people," he said. He said Petro's move had jeopardised US' national security and public safety and announced "urgent and decisive retaliatory measures". Washington DC imposed a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming into US from Colombia. This tariff would be raised to 50 per cent in a week. It also announced a travel ban and immediate visa revocations on Colombian government officials, allies and supporters. The US also announced visa sanctions on all party members, family members, and supporters of the Colombian government.

Trump asked the administration to impose enhanced customs and border protection inspections of all Colombian nationals and cargo on national security grounds, besides banking and financial sanctions.

"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," he added.

Petro's Sharp Response

Hours after Trump's TruthSocial post, Petro wrote a long response on X, starting with "I don't like travelling to the US, it's a bit boring." Petro wrote that Trump is going to "wipe out the human species because of greed". "Maybe one day, over a glass of whiskey, which I accept, despite my gastritis, we can talk frankly about this, but it's difficult because you consider me an inferior race and I'm not, nor is any Colombian. So if you know someone who is stubborn, that's me, period," he said.

Petro dared Trump to carry out a coup to unseat him. "You can try to carry out a coup with your economic strength and your arrogance, like they did with (former Chilean President Salvador) Allende. But I will die in my law, I resisted torture and I resist you. I don't want slavers next to Colombia, we already had many and we freed ourselves. What I want next to Colombia are lovers of freedom."

The Colombian President's Marquez Reference

In his response to Trump, Petro says Colombia is the "heart of the world" and the "land of the yellow butterflies". He then describes the country as the land of the "beauty of Remedios and also of the colonels Aureliano Buendia, of which I am one, perhaps the last". Remedios and Colonel Aureliano Buendia are characters from Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, which was recently made into a Netflix series. Remedios is the most beautiful woman in Macondo, the fictional town that serves as the novel's setting. Colonel Buendia, on the other hand, is its protagonist. A revolutionary leader, the Colonel whose life and battles are intertwined with Macondo's journey from a tiny settlement to a bustling town.

Besides literature, Petro delves deep into Colombian history to hit back at Trump, also referring to its first President Simon Bolivar and the US' fight against slavery. "You don't like our freedom, okay. I don't shake hands with white slavers," he says, and adds, "You will never rule us."