Posted on 01/26/25
| News Source: CNN
The White House said Sunday night that Colombia has agreed to “unrestricted acceptance” of immigrants who entered the US illegally from Colombia and that President Donald Trump will not levy a 25% tariff on the country “unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement.”
“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 U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in the statement. “Based on this agreement, the fully drafted IEEPA tariffs and sanctions will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement.”
Leavitt said tariffs and financial sanctions will be paused, but visa sanctions against Colombian officials and stricter customs inspections of Colombian nationals and cargo ships ordered by Trump earlier Sunday will remain in effect “until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.”
The announcement comes after Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro threatened increased retaliatory tariffs after Petro blocked from landing two US military aircraft transporting Colombian nationals who had entered the US illegally.
The statement does not say whether Trump and Petro spoke following their flurry of threats on Sunday.