Colombia Says It Will Send Presidential Plane To Fly Back Deported Migrants Whose Flight Sparked Tariff Standoff

The United States and Colombia announced late Sunday they have reached an agreement to end their tariff standoff as the latter accepted to take deported nationals, with Bogota saying it will send the presidential plane to fly back the deportees whose rejected flights catalyzed the conflict.

Colombia said on Sunday it "overcame the impasse with the U.S. government" and that two high-ranking officials will travel to Washington D.C. to follow up with the agreements. "We will continue receiving Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them dignified conditions," the release added, saying the presidential plane will take back those whose flight was rejected by the country on Sunday.

Washington D.C. described the deal differently, with the White House saying the "government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump's terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay."

It added that tariffs and sanctions won't be imposed as long as Colombia honors the agreement, but visa sanctions and "enhanced inspections from Customs and Border Protection will continue until the first plane with deportees lands in the South American country.

Media reported on Sunday that Colombian President Gustavo Petro but later walked back the decision, instead posting the statement by his government. White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, however, echoed a message on her X account regarding the repost, which claimed that the move "indicates he endorses what the Trump admin is saying about the deal."

"Hard to see this as anything but a full capitulation by Colombian prez after he picked a fight with Trump today," added Fox News' Bill Melugin.

The agreement ends a short-lived but intense standoff between the two countries that began after Petro denied the entry of two American aircraft carrying Colombian migrants, claiming he would only accept them once the U.S. government "establishes protocols that guarantee dignity and rights to the deportees."

According to Secretary Marco Rubio, Petro had initially authorized the aircraft to land in Colombia but canceled his authorization once the airplanes were en route.

Trump responded to Petro's decision by announcing tariffs of up to 50% on Colombian imports and immediate visa sanctions for people associated with the Colombian government. Petro promptly announced he would match the tariff and went on a tirade against the U.S.

"Your blockade does not scare me... I am informed that you're imposing a 50% import tariff on us; I do the same," the Colombian President wrote on social media.

Petro, a heavy user of social media, also wrote a lengthy post addressed to Trump in which he extensively criticized the United States, claiming he would "resist." Petro described Trump and other American leaders as "slaveholders" who saw Colombians as an "inferior race."

"I survived torture, and I will resist you," he wrote. "Make me fall, President, and the Americas and humanity will respond." He also pointed out the 15,660 U.S. citizens "established in Colombia" without proper documentation, calling on them to regularize their status.