Oliver Stuenkel
U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated an apparent victory on Sunday when he coerced Colombian President Gustavo Petro to allow the resumption of U.S. deportation flights to the country. Petro had previously announced on X that he had turned away two U.S. military flights carrying deported Colombians, writing that the United States “must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them.”
Trump and Petro sparred on social media for hours. But the Colombian president was forced into submission after his U.S. counterpart announced retaliatory tariffs of 25 percent on all Colombian goods, set to rise to 50 percent after one week, in addition to sanctions and travel bans on Colombian officials. Crude oil is Colombia’s biggest export to the United States; the South American country is the United States’ second-biggest source of coffee and top provider of cut flowers. A trade war would have been highly detrimental to the Colombian economy—especially ahead of Valentine’s Day.
No comments:
Post a Comment