The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday (30), with immigration as one of the key issues on the agenda. This union's meeting in Santiago could be a tool to exert pressure against Trump's policies.
The newly sworn-in President of the United States, Donald Trump, has started his anti-immigration policy as promised during his campaign. In his first days in office, Trump implemented several measures against undocumented immigrants, including deportations, sending troops to the Mexican border, and arresting over 500 people.
On Saturday night (25), the first flight with 88 Brazilians deported from the United States arrived in Brazil. The passengers were transported in handcuffs. The Brazilian Foreign Ministry announced that it would request explanations from Trump's administration for what it described as “disrespect for fundamental rights.”
The next day, Sunday (26), Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo, after facing similar issues with their citizens being transported back, stated that they would “overcome the impasse with the United States” by accepting the deportation flights of their irregular citizens in the US.
The clash between the United States and Colombia began earlier on Sunday when Colombian President Gustavo Petro banned two military planes carrying deportees from landing in Colombia. Petro insisted that the deportees should be treated with dignity and respect, and that he would only receive civilian flights. Trump's reaction was immediate: on his social network, Truth Social, he announced a 50% tariff on Colombian products, along with other sanctions and retaliations.
Petro's response was swift: in a lengthy letter published on social media, he referred to Trump as a “white slaveholder,” announced he would raise tariffs on US products, and directed Colombia's exports to the rest of the world. Petro also criticized the immigration policies and the treatment of Colombian citizens, emphasizing his resistance to both torture and Trump's actions.
Following the announcement that the tariff standoff with the United States had been resolved, the White House said it would suspend sanctions and tariffs against Colombia. Shortly after, Colombia's foreign minister and ambassador Daniel García-Peña announced they would go to Washington to further discuss the deportation agreement between the two countries.
On Monday (27), on Brasil de Fato's program Central do Brasil, international correspondent in Venezuela, Lorenzo Santiago, reported on the clash. He spoke to sources in Colombia and noted that the general assessment is positive about Gustavo Petro's firm stance against Trump's policies, despite US power prevailing.
“For the militants of the government, of the Historical Pact, it was a positive and important step by Petro to put up these barriers to the United States, even if, at the end of the day, these threats and harassment by the US government prevailed. The Trump administration threatened to add more 25% tariffs on Colombian products. Today, Colombia's exports are much more dependent on the United States than the other way around, with approximately 37.9% of Colombian exports going to the United States, so it would have a tremendous impact on Colombian exports,” he explains.
“This is the main tool that Latin American countries have today, a union to apply pressure. Just as Petro signaled, all the Latin American countries receiving these deportees can put tariffs on US products. It's obvious that this is where the correlation of forces in Latin America comes into play, because there are other players, such as the Chinese, interested in putting industrialized products, the main export point for the United States, into the hands of Latin Americans. Tinkering with this makes life easier for the Chinese but puts up barriers so that the United States doesn't impose such measures.”
President Lula is meeting Tuesday (28) with Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira to discuss the deportation of Brazilians from the United States. The meeting will also be attended by the Minister of Justice, Ricardo Lewandowski, and the Director General of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues. The conversation comes after the repercussions of the treatment during the first deportation flight under the Trump administration over the weekend.
Edited by: Nicolau Soares
