Trump’s Warning to Colombia: Tread Carefully with the U.S.

As the saying goes, the president of Colombia has just futzed around and discovered the consequences.

Recently, Gustavo Petro refused to permit the landing of two military flights that had been previously authorized to carry deported Colombian citizens. He insisted that those expelled from the United States use civilian aircraft only, labeling military transport as inhumane.

In response, President Trump took to Truth Social to deliver a strong reaction, implementing 25% tariffs on all imports from Colombia, revoking visas for Colombian government officials and members of the Humana political party, as well as imposing customs and banking penalties.

To reinforce the seriousness of Trump’s stance, Marco Rubio’s State Department promptly closed the visa section of the US embassy in Bogota, where 1,500 visa applications were pending.

Within hours, Petro found himself scrambling to save face by offering his presidential plane for the transport of deported Colombians.

This half-hearted defiance is typical of Latin American Marxists who claim to care for their people while simultaneously attributing all their problems to the United States.

While the Biden and Obama administrations seemed to accept blame due to their ineffective, conciliatory strategies with leftist regimes in the region, this latest exchange indicates the Trump administration will not tolerate such behavior. And rightly so.

For decades, extreme left leaders in Latin America have clung to power through a destructive approach to democracy, free-market principles, and the individual rights of citizens.

The millions fleeing from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to the United States serve as evidence of this reality.

Since Petro took office in 2022, there has been a notable increase in the number of Colombians illegally entering the United States. In 2021, there were a little over 6,000 encounters with Colombian migrants at the US-Mexico border, while over 125,000 encounters were logged in both 2022 and 2023.

It’s no surprise that Colombians want to leave. While Gustavo Petro’s time in office has been significantly shorter than that of leaders in Caracas and Havana, he is rapidly dismantling his country through harmful domestic policies.

As a former member of the Marxist guerrilla group M-19, Petro’s subtle sympathy towards narco-terrorist groups such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) has allowed both factions to gain power, leading to violence against Colombian citizens.

Petro’s failure to control the violence, combined with his ambiguous stance on Colombia’s military, has severely undermined the country’s national security.

This has been aggravated by his tacit support for Nicolas Maduro’s illegitimate reelection in Venezuela, as Maduro’s regime provides a refuge for both FARC and ELN.

Under Petro’s administration, Colombia’s economy has struggled, with growth dipping below 1% in 2023 and projected at only 2% for 2024.

Foreign investment has also stagnated, likely due to the resurgence of armed conflict.

Colombia exports billions of dollars worth of goods to the US annually. If the proposed 25% tariffs came into effect, the Colombian economy would suffer greatly.

And for what? An upgrade to an airplane?

Petro’s posturing is infuriatingly arrogant. Previous Colombian administrations built strong relations with the United States.

Today, a robust partnership with the United States is essential for Colombia. Historically, the US has invested billions of dollars into Colombia through effective military, humanitarian, and economic assistance programs.

Now that all American foreign aid initiatives are under review by the new administration, Petro’s overt disdain for Trump, and by extension the United States, could jeopardize the future aid that both nations rely on.

Ultimately, Petro conceded, agreeing to Trump’s terms: the deported Colombians will land in Bogota, and tariffs will not be enacted.

Should President Petro choose to align himself with his Marxist neighbors in pursuing anti-American policies in the future, he now understands the potential consequences.

The rapid diplomatic exchanges have left Petro retreating under the cloud of diminished credibility, having nearly severed ties with a significant ally for the Colombian people.

And Trump was correct in holding Petro accountable.

Prior administrations have mistakenly treated far-left leaders in Latin America as the figures they aspire to be rather than the leaders they truly are.

With Donald Trump in the White House and Marco Rubio in the State Department, the era of coddling anti-American Marxist regimes is over.

The message is clear: If they futz around with the United States, they will find out.

Christine Balling is a senior vice president at the Institute of World Politics and a former senior adviser to the US Special Operations South commander.