Latin American leaders are scrambling to react to President Donald Trump’s aggressive foreign policy after he successfully forced Colombian President Gustavo Petro to back down on resisting the deportation of Colombian illegal immigrants back to their home country.
After Petro’s short-lived feud with Trump, Latin American leaders are scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss how they will deal with Trump’s aggressive foreign policy.
On Sunday, Trump put Petro on blast on Truth Social for denying repatriation flights landing spots in the South American nation. Trump quickly threatened Petro with “emergency 25% tariffs” (to go up to 50% the next week) and “retaliatory measures” for not complying with American deportation efforts.
By Sunday evening, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reported that Colombia had “agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States.”
But Leavitt added that the threatened tariffs and sanctions would be “held in reserve … unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement.”
🚨The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms pic.twitter.com/mQocusSGOC
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 27, 2025
