“The US can’t deal with Colombian migrants as criminals,” Petro wrote, noting that there have been 15,660 Individuals with out correct immigration standing in Colombia.
Mexico additionally refused a request final week to let a US army plane land with migrants.
Trump didn’t take comparable motion towards Mexico, its largest buying and selling associate, however has mentioned he was eager about imposing 25 p.c duties on imports from Canada and Mexico on Feb 1 over unlawful immigrants and fentanyl crossing into the US.
America is Colombia’s largest commerce and funding associate, the State Division says, and Colombia can be the US’s third-largest commerce associate in Latin America.
“Petro’s discovering out that tweets have penalties. He is not confronted a US counterpart that appears at Colombia by way of a strategic lens, as a key ally, however as a rustic to make an instance of,” mentioned Sergio Guzman, director of consultancy Colombia Danger Evaluation, who added that monetary sanctions may very well be probably economically crippling.
GROWING DISCONTENT
Petro’s feedback add to the rising refrain of discontent in Latin America as Trump’s week-old administration begins mobilizing for mass deportations.
Brazil’s overseas ministry late on Saturday condemned “degrading therapy” of Brazilians after migrants had been handcuffed on a industrial deportation flight. Upon arrival, a few of the passengers additionally reported mistreatment throughout the flight, in line with native information reviews.
The aircraft, which was carrying 88 Brazilian passengers, 16 US safety brokers, and eight crew members, had been initially scheduled to reach in Belo Horizonte within the southeastern state of Minas Gerais.