Donald Trump secures deportations BREAKTHROUGH as Colombia offers up own presidential plane to take back illegal migrants
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Donald Trump has secured a deportations breakthrough after Colombia's president offered his own plane to help take back illegal migrants from his country.
A statement from president Gustavo Petro said he had "arranged the presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots" - a U-turn on his earlier vow to block the returns flights.
Just this weekend, Petro had rejected two planes' worth of Colombian illegal migrants, saying: "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," he added, and warned that the US cannot "treat Colombian migrants as criminals".
Trump then threatened Colombia with a series of hard-hitting tariff hikes
REUTERS
But Trump then threatened Colombia with a series of hard-hitting tariff hikes - a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming into the US from Colombia, which would jump to 50 per cent after just one week.
The US President also ordered a travel ban and visa revocations for all Colombian government officials, as well as "allies and supporters".
A panicked Colombian administration has now said: "The government of Colombia, under the direction of President Gustavo Petro, has arranged the presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were going to arrive in the country today in the morning, coming from deportation flights.
"This measure responds to the government's commitment to guarantee decent conditions."
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Colombian premier Gustavo Petro has U-turned and offered up his own jet to return illegal migrants
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It remains to be seen how Trump will respond to the offer of the presidential plane.
But as he introduced the tariffs, he said: "These measures are just the beginning.
"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!"
And in response to the Colombian block on returns flights, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said America will "no longer be lied to nor taken advantage of".
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said America will 'no longer be lied to nor taken advantage of' as the country steps up its deportation programme
REUTERS
He added that Petro had initally authorised the flights - but then cancelled his authorisation while the planes were in the air.
Brazil has also borne the brunt of Trump's strong arm on illegal migrants.
The South American powerhouse's foreign ministry condemned the "degrading treatment" of Brazilians after migrants were handcuffed on a commercial deportation flight.
Upon arrival, some of the passengers also claimed they had been mistreated during the flight.
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