Washington, United States (AFP)-United States president Donald Trump said Sunday he was imposing sweeping tariffs on Colombian goods and revoking the visas of government officials after his counterpart Gustavo Petro blocked deportation flights from the United States.
Earlier Sunday, Petro had announced that his administration would prevent US deportation flights from landing in the country until migrants were guaranteed “dignified treatment,” escalating a row with Washington just days into Trump’s second term in office.
In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump said that he had directed his administration to implement “emergency 25 percent tariffs” on all Colombian goods entering the United States, which would rise to 50 percent in one week.
He also announced a travel ban on Colombian government officials, and said he was invoking sanctions under emergency presidential powers.
“Petro’s denial of these flights has jeopardized 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,” Trump said.
The president’s actions come less than a week after he was sworn into office on a pledge to deport millions of undocumented workers from the United States.
He has also threatene to imposed sweeping tariffs on major US trading partners, including Mexico and Canada, accusing them of failing to tackle illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump wrote in his social media post on Sunday.
“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.