New Delhi: Colombia Sunday relented and accepted the repatriation of Colombians living illegally in the US, following threats of imposition of tariffs and sanctions on the South American country by new President Donald Trump. Columbia has long been considered one of US’ key partners in South America.
“The Government of Colombia has overcome the impasse with the Government of the United States. In this context, Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo and Ambassador Daniel Garcia-Peña will travel to Washington D.C. in the next few hours to hold high-level meetings to follow up on the agreements,” an official statement from the Colombian Foreign Ministry stated Monday.
The presidents of the two nations had faced off after Colombia blocked US military flights, carrying its nationals who had been living illegally in the US, from landing in the country.
“(Columbian President Gustavo) Petro’s denial of these flights has jeopardised the National Security and Public Safety of the United States, so I have directed my administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures: Emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States. In one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%,” said Trump in a post on the social media platform Truth Social.
“A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters. Visa Sanctions on all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government. Enhanced Customs and Border Protection Inspections of all Colombian Nationals and Cargo on national security grounds. IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) Treasury, Banking and Financial Sanctions to be fully imposed,” he added.
The US State Department Sunday announced an “immediate suspension” of issuance of all visas at the US embassy in Bogotá, while highlighting that travel sanctions on individuals and family members of Colombian government officials were in the process of being authorised.
Bogotá eventually backed down, with the White House explaining in a statement that “the Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft”.
The White House also announced that the sanctions and tariffs drafted will be “held in reserve” and not signed, but the visa sanctions issued by the US State Department and enhanced inspections by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would remain until the first planeload of Colombian nationals was successfully repatriated.
“Trump, I don’t really like travelling to the US, it’s a bit boring, but I confess that there are some commendable things. I like going to the black neighbourhoods of Washington, where I saw an entire fight in the US capital between blacks and Latinos with barricades, which seemed like nonsense to me, because they should join together,” Petro had said in a long post on X, in response to Trump’s threats.
Trump, a mi no me gusta mucho viajar a los EEUU, es un poco aburridor, pero confieso que hay cosas meritorias, me gusta ir a los barrios negros de Washington, allí ví una lucha entera en la capital de los EEUU entre negros y latinos con barricadas, que me pareció una pendejada,…
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 26, 2025
“You can try to carry out a coup with your economic strength and your arrogance, like they did with (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,” he added.
About 1,90,000 unauthorised immigrants from Colombia were living in the US in 2022, according to data from Pew Research Center. There are about nine countries with larger unauthorised populations living in the US, including India, showed the data. It put the number of Indians living illegally in the US at 7,25,000.
ThePrint takes a look at the US-Colombia relationship.
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US’ key partner in region
For over 200 years, the US and Colombia have maintained diplomatic ties.
The two nations first established a treaty of commerce in 1824, five years after Colombia gained full independence from Spain. At the time, Colombia was constituted of modern-day countries of Ecuador, Venezuela and Panama, apart from its own existing boundaries.
A US mission has functioned in Colombia since 1823, while its status was upgraded to an embassy in 1939.
In recent years, Bogotá has become an important security and defence partner for the US in the region.
In 2022, the US administration under President Joe Biden designated Colombia as a Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA), which indicates its strategic working relationship with Washington.
The status gives Colombia a number of avenues to deepen its defence relationship with the US, including participating in research and development projects with the Department of Defense, prioritisation in delivery of military surplus equipment, and even financing for leasing military equipment.
Between 2017 and 2023, Colombia received $278 million under US’ foreign military financing (FMF) programme, to strengthen its defence capabilities.
According to the State Department, the US has approximately $71.6 million in active sales cases for US-origin defence articles and services to Colombia under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. The US has also authorised the permanent export of roughly $172.37 million of defence equipment to Colombia between 2021 and 2023.
The security partnership between the two nations has also been evolving for decades.
Between 1990 and 2000, the US authorised roughly $1.6 billion in security assistance to the South American country, according to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
Between 2012 and 2013, the US authorised over $2.3 billion worth of arms sales to Colombia, according to the Security Assistance Monitor published by the Center for International Policy.
Bogotá has also been a key partner in the US’ war on drugs, which began in 1971, under President Richard M. Nixon.
Colombia was the US’ first target, with Nixon requesting $84 million from Congress to fund the war on drugs, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
The war on drugs has continued for over five decades since then.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Medellin Cartel led by Pablo Escobar surged, while conflicts against guerrilla groups in the South American country also escalated. Colombian presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán was assassinated by hitmen allegedly on the orders of Escobar in August 1989, which led to the US administration under then President George H. W. Bush ordering $65 million under the presidential drawdown authority to support the Colombian military.
While security ties have had their ups and downs, with US President Bill Clinton in 1996 decertifying Colombia as a partner in the drug war, Washington D.C. in 2000 announced a diplomatic, foreign aid and military aid initiative to combat the Colombian drug cartels, under “Plan Colombia”. The plan involved $10 billion in assistance over 16 years.
Economic engagement
The US is Colombia’s largest trading partner, accounting for roughly $30 billion of the latter’s total goods trade of $112 billion in 2023, according to UN Comtrade data. Colombia’s exports to the US were at roughly $14.11 billion, while its imports stood at $16.1 billion that year.
Colombia imports around $13.5 billion worth of goods from China, which clocks in second after the US. For Colombian exports, after the US, its next largest market is Panama, followed by China and India, according to UN Comtrade data.
For Colombia’s economy, the US market is by far its most important one for exports.
According to the US Department of Commerce, some of Colombia’s largest exports to the country include agricultural products, oils, cements and minerals.
Any tariffs on Colombian products could thus heavily impact the nation’s economy.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Colombia’s GDP is set to grow at 2.5 percent in 2025, which is higher than the 2024 growth rate of 1.6 percent. However, the country in the last few years since the COVID-19 pandemic has had to face higher inflation rates, peaking at 11.7 percent in 2023.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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