WASHINGTON/BOGOTA –
President Donald Trump said on Sunday he will impose sweeping retaliatory measures on Colombia, including tariffs and sanctions, after the South American country turned away two U.S. military aircraft with migrants being deported as part of the new U.S. administration’s immigration crackdown.
Colombia, America’s third largest trading partner in Latin America, swiftly responded, threatening a 50% tariff on U.S. goods.
Trump’s punitive action appeared aimed at making an example of Colombia, the second case of a Latin American nation refusing U.S. military deportation flights. It was a demonstration of a more muscular U.S. foreign policy and showed a renewed willingness by Trump to force other countries to bend to his will.