Two migrants-carrying planes landed, according to the Colombian government, on Tuesday. A total of 201 migrants — 110 sent from California and 90 from Texas — were on board.
Colombia, which had rejected US military aircraft carrying migrants over the weekend, turned its attention to Colombia, arguing that their passengers shouldn’t be treated as criminals.
According to reports, some flights to Latin America had handcuffs on some of the passengers.
The Colombian government prioritizes the welfare of its citizens and the protection of their rights, according to a statement from the foreign ministry on Tuesday on social media.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro rebuffed his counterpart, US President Donald Trump, on Sunday when he refused to grant permission for two deportation flights to land in the nation.
The Trump administration responded by halting the deportation flights and enforcing a travel ban on officials “who were responsible for the interference” at the US embassy in Bogota.
Trump also threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Colombian goods, making immigration crackdown a top priority since his second term in office on January 20. If Colombia continued to support its position in the coming week, he predicted that percentage would increase by 50%.
Bogota initially reacted in a defiant manner, declaring that it would impose tariffs on US citizens.
Late on Sunday, the two parties came to an agreement to resolve the conflict, which was praised by US officials as a victory.
Luis Gilberto Murillo, Colombia’s foreign minister, stated earlier this week that the country would resume accepting detainees in “dignified conditions” and would use the presidential plane to assist in the repatriation of migrants.
Prior US administrations had previously permitted Bogota to return Colombian citizens who had been deported there. However, under Trump, Petro’s government objected to how the deportees were transported.
The president of Colombia, who is a leftist, claimed on Sunday that his nation had never turned down immigrants.
In a social media post, Petro wrote, “But do not demand that I accept deported people from the US, handcuffed, and on military aircraft.” “We are not anyone’s colony”.
He shared images of a Colombian air force plane making its way to Colombia on Tuesday.
“They are Colombians. They are free and dignified, and they are in their homeland where they are loved”, Petro wrote.
“The migrant is not a criminal. He is a human being who wants to work and progress, to live life”.
Source: Aljazeera
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