The President of Colombia says he will not accept us on deportation flights

Colombia will not accept deportation flights from the United States until the Trump administration provides a process to treat Colombian migrants with “dignity and respect,” the country’s president, Gustavo Petro, said. He said On Sunday in a series of posts on x.

Mr. Petro also said that Colombia had already turned away military aircraft carrying Colombians. While other countries in Latin America have raised concerns about President Trump’s sweeping deportation plans, Colombia appears to be the first to explicitly refuse to cooperate.

“I cannot have immigrants stay in a country that does not want them,” Mr. Petro wrote, “but if that country sends them back, it should be with dignity and respect for them and our country.”

Mr. Petro’s position is likely to put him on a collision course with Mr. Trump, who since taking office last Monday has issued a series of executive orders and made other moves aimed at laying the groundwork for an attempt to deport a massive number of immigrants.

The US Embassy in Bogota did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Among other things, Mr. Petro said he would be willing to allow civilian planes carrying deportees to land in Colombia, but not military planes. “An immigrant is not a criminal,” he wrote on X.

It did not include details about when or how many military aircraft and migrants were turned away.

It is not clear whether Colombia can legally deport its citizens, or if or how many deportation flights it has received in the past. A representative for the president confirmed that the planes had been turned away, but did not immediately respond to further questions.

Mr. Petro’s statement was in response to publication In reference to reports from a local news outlet about Brazil’s complaints of “inhumane” treatment of deported migrants stemming from a video of men seen disembarking in Brazil from a plane from the United States with their hands bound together.

The ad comes as countries All over the world They are grappling with how to prepare for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants that Mr. Trump has threatened.

Two military planes carrying deported migrants I landed in Guatemala City On Friday, one of the first countries concluded an agreement with the United States to receive deported citizens transported aboard the US Air Force.