January 28, 2025
That didn’t take long before Gustavo Petro backed down on his hard line against the Donald Trump deportations back to Colombia.
In case you were not aware, Trump announced a policy that would see Colombian migrants in the US illegally, sent back to Colombia. There was no system in Colombia to receive these migrants.
Of course, Petro of Colombia said initially that he will not receive these nationals back to Colombia.
Then Trump hit back and said that we will hit Colombia with tariffs if they didn’t take their Colombia nationals back. Petro quickly backed down, changed his tune and said that he would welcome back those Colombian nationals being repatriated.
This is just how powerful the United States of America is and Trump knows it. Tariffs would have crippled Colombia, and Petro knows it too. Just look at what an embargo did to Cuba and Venezuela.
While tariffs would not be a wholesale ban on Colombian made products, it would have significantly hurt Colombian businesses and it would have been a certain loss for Petro if he were to seek re-election.
Trump is the hard man in charge now. No prisoners.