WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump on Sunday announced stiff new tariffs on imports from Colombia and visa restrictions in retaliation to Colombian President Gustavo Petro denying the entry of U.S. military flights deporting Colombian migrants.

Shortly after Trump’s threat, Petro said he would provide a presidential plane for the “dignified return” of Columbia migrants who face deportations from the U.S.

After learning of two repatriation flights that weren’t allowed to land in Colombia, Trump said he would issue 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the U.S. from Colombia and raise it to 50% tariffs after one week. He further announced the immediate revocation of visas and a travel ban to the U.S. for Colombian government officials and their allies and supporters.

Trump promised financial sanctions on Colombia and said he would heighten customs and border protection inspections of all Colombian nationals and cargo on national security grounds.  “These measures are just the beginning,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!”

Trump’s moves come as he is seeking to aggressively act on his promise of mass deportations of immigrants in the country illegally. During his first week in office, Trump declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and ordered U.S. troops to help carry out deportations, which has resulted in deportees flying back to their home countries in handcuffs.

“The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals,” Petro wrote in a Sunday morning post on X that triggered Trump’s actions. “I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory. The United States must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them.”

The largest U.S. imports from Colombia include crude oil, coffee, and cut flowers, according to the State Department. Trump has discussed plans to issue tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China, igniting concerns of trade wars as he begins his second term.

Multiple Latin American countries have pushed back at Trump’s militarized deportations.

Brazil has also condemned the conditions in which deportees have been returned. And last week, Mexico refused to accept a deportation flight for the first time in decades.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement Sunday defending the deportation policy and demanding cooperation from Latin American nations.

“President Trump has made it clear that under his administration, America will no longer be lied to nor taken advantage of. It is the responsibility of each nation to take back their citizens who are illegally present in the United States in a serious and expeditious manner,” Rubio said.

“Colombian President Petro had authorized flights and provided all needed authorizations and then canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air,” Rubio added. “As demonstrated by today’s actions, we are unwavering in our commitment to end illegal immigration and bolster America’s border security.”

Trump presidency: As countries push back on deportations, Trump trades words, threats

Reach Joey Garrison X @joeygarrison.

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Rachel Reeves will on Monday call on sceptical Labour MPs to back her plans to boost the UK economy, including a highly contentious proposal to expand Heathrow airport.

The chancellor is facing criticism from some in her party for allegedly siding with business over consumers and for backing a third runway at Britain’s busiest airport, amid fears it could hit the government’s environmental objectives.

But Reeves will seek to face down her critics when she meets the Parliamentary Labour party on Monday, telling MPs that without growth she will be unable to fund the improvements to public services they want.

Reeves, who met investors at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, will also spend the next two days meeting chief executives in an attempt to persuade them that she has a credible growth strategy.

Many business leaders fear her policies have contributed to a stagnating economy.

On Sunday Reeves in effect confirmed that she would endorse the construction of a third runway at Heathrow when she makes a “growth” speech on Wednesday, insisting the aviation industry was becoming greener.

Asked about claims by London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan that the policy would hit clean air and net zero targets, Reeves said: “A lot has changed in terms of aviation.”

She told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that more sustainable aviation fuels were becoming available, and that “a third runway will mean that instead of circling London, flights can land at Heathrow”.

Reeves said she had already agreed the expansion of London City and Stansted airports and she is also expected on Wednesday to approve expansion at Gatwick and Luton, marking a huge expansion of London airport capacity.

A third runway was first proposed by the last Labour government in 2003 on economic grounds, but subsequent Conservative administrations tried and failed to progress the scheme.

Khan and environmental groups have long opposed it, citing the UK’s legally binding target to reach net zero carbon emissions. But this week energy secretary Ed Miliband, who threatened to resign over the issue during Gordon Brown’s government, said he would not quit his role if the third runway was approved.

Paul McGuinness, chair of the No Third Runway Coalition, said: “Expansions at other London airports undermine the case for Heathrow’s uniquely complicated and costly third runway, making it an even riskier, if not uninvestable proposition.”

Left-wing Labour MPs are also worried that Reeves is tilting the regulatory landscape in favour of big business and away from consumers, with one saying: “She’s throwing herself at big corporations.”

But the chancellor insisted on Sunday that without some radical changes Britain would have inadequate growth and that the government would fail to meet its target of 1.5mn new homes in this parliament.

“Too often the answer to new development has been ‘no’. But that is the attitude that has stunted economic growth and left working people worse off,” she said. “I don’t believe low growth is our destiny.”

Reeves announced new plans to speed up the construction of new homes near commuter train stations, as part of reforms under a new planning and infrastructure bill.

The Treasury said the new rules would ensure that when developers submit an application for acceptable types of schemes in key areas — such as near commuter transport hubs — the default answer would be “yes”.

Reeves also backed a regeneration project around Old Trafford in Manchester, which has been championed by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.

The Treasury said it would see “new housing, commercial and public space as a shining example of the bold pro-development model that will drive growth across the region”.

Manchester United have plans to rebuild or redevelop Old Trafford, which city leaders claim could drive one of the UK’s “biggest ever urban regeneration projects”.

The Premier League club will decide by the end of this season whether to build a new 100,000-capacity ground, creating the country’s biggest stadium, or upgrade and expand the existing one.

Burnham dubbed the proposal “the largest opportunity for urban regeneration” since the 2012 London Olympic Games.