Latest news with #GovernmentofColombia
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US, Colombia recall top diplomats as rift deepens
The United States and Colombia called home their respective envoys on Thursday in an apparent acceleration of worsening ties, against the backdrop of an alleged plot against Colombia's leftist leader. Washington went first, recalling its charge d'affaires John McNamara "following baseless and reprehensible statements from the highest levels of the Government of Colombia," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said, without giving specifics. In addition to McNamara's recall, Bruce said the United States "is pursuing other measures to make clear our deep concern over the current state of our bilateral relationship." She did not detail the actions. Within hours, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced he was calling home his top diplomat in Washington in response. Ambassador Daniel Garcia Pena "must come to inform us of the development of the bilateral agenda," Petro wrote on X, such as tapping South America's "great potential for clean energy" and the fight against "drug lords and their international finances." The diplomatic spat came on the heels of the resignation of Colombia's foreign minister earlier Thursday -- the latest top-ranking official to exit Petro's government. "In recent days, decisions have been made that I do not agree with and that, out of personal integrity and institutional respect, I cannot support," Laura Sarabia, who was also Petro's former chief of staff, wrote on X. - Plot investigation - Colombia was until recently one of the United States's closest partners in Latin America. But ties have sharply deteriorated. Colombian prosecutors opened an investigation this week into an alleged plot to overthrow Petro with the help of Colombian and American politicians, following the publication by the Spanish daily El Pais of recordings implicating former foreign minister Alvaro Leyva. "This is nothing more than a conspiracy with drug traffickers and apparently, the Colombian and American extreme right," Petro said on Monday. During a speech in Bogota on Thursday, Petro said he did not think US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom he had previously linked to the alleged overthrow attempt, was "in the midst of a coup d'etat" against his government. "I don't believe that a government that has Iran as its enemy and nuclear weapons pointed at it... is going to start fooling around with a coup d'etat" in Colombia, he said. In late January, the United States briefly suspended consular services to retaliate for Petro's refusal to allow US military planes to return Colombian migrants to their homeland. Petro accused the United States of treating the migrants like criminals, placing them in shackles and handcuffs. The pair issued threats and counter threats of crippling trade tariffs of up to 50 percent. A backroom diplomatic deal involving the deployment of Colombian Air Force planes to collect the migrants averted a looming trade war at the eleventh hour. Colombia's leftist government also recently refused a US request to extradite two prominent guerrilla leaders wanted by Washington for drug trafficking. als-lb/jgc/acb
Int'l Business Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
US, Colombia Recall Top Diplomats As Rift Deepens
The United States and Colombia called home their respective envoys on Thursday in an apparent acceleration of worsening ties, against the backdrop of an alleged plot against Colombia's leftist leader. Washington went first, recalling its charge d'affaires John McNamara "following baseless and reprehensible statements from the highest levels of the Government of Colombia," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said, without giving specifics. In addition to McNamara's recall, Bruce said the United States "is pursuing other measures to make clear our deep concern over the current state of our bilateral relationship." She did not detail the actions. Within hours, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced he was calling home his top diplomat in Washington in response. Ambassador Daniel Garcia Pena "must come to inform us of the development of the bilateral agenda," Petro wrote on X, such as tapping South America's "great potential for clean energy" and the fight against "drug lords and their international finances." The diplomatic spat came on the heels of the resignation of Colombia's foreign minister earlier Thursday -- the latest top-ranking official to exit Petro's government. "In recent days, decisions have been made that I do not agree with and that, out of personal integrity and institutional respect, I cannot support," Laura Sarabia, Petro's former chief of staff, wrote on X. Colombia was until recently one of the United States's closest partners in Latin America. But ties have sharply deteriorated. Colombian prosecutors opened an investigation this week into an alleged plot to overthrow Petro with the help of Colombian and American politicians, following the publication by the Spanish daily El Pais of recordings implicating former foreign minister Alvaro Leyva. "This is nothing more than a conspiracy with drug traffickers and apparently, the Colombian and American extreme right," Petro said on Monday. In late January, the United States briefly suspended consular services to retaliate for Petro's refusal to allow US military planes to return Colombian migrants to their homeland. Petro accused the United States of treating the migrants like criminals, placing them in shackles and handcuffs. The pair issued threats and counter threats of crippling trade tariffs of up to 50 percent. A backroom diplomatic deal involving the deployment of Colombian Air Force planes to collect the migrants averted a looming trade war at the eleventh hour. Colombia's leftist government also recently refused a US request to extradite two prominent guerrilla leaders wanted by Washington for drug trafficking.
India Today
03-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
US and Colombia recall ambassadors amid growing diplomatic rift
The United States has recalled its top diplomat from the U.S. embassy in Bogota over statements it said were made at high levels of the Colombian government, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday, prompting the South American country to also recall its ambassador to the Donald Trump's administration recalled Charg d'Affaires ad interim John McNamara "for urgent consultations following baseless and reprehensible statements from the highest levels of the Government of Colombia," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a addition to the recall of the Charg, the United States is pursuing other measures to make clear our deep concern over the current state of our bilateral relationship." The State Department did not specify which comments it took issue with or what other measures were being pursued by Washington's announcement, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that he was recalling Colombia's ambassador to the U.S., Daniel a lengthy post on X, Petro said the diplomat should come back to discuss the two countries' bilateral agenda, listing priorities such as climate cooperation, anti-narcotics efforts and migration foreign ministry said Minister Laura Sarabia, who announced her resignation on Thursday, is "in communication with the United States while she is in office until they designate a new foreign minister who will be in charge of the matter."U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a rebuke to Colombia's government last month after Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential contender and a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party, was shot in said the shooting of Uribe was "the result of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government."Uribe has been undergoing repeated serious surgeries since the shooting, which left him in critical January, Trump and Petro clashed over Colombia's refusal to accept military aircraft carrying deported migrants, prompting Trump to threaten tariffs and sanctions. But the two countries managed to pull back from the brink of a trade war and overcome the at the time had condemned the military deportation flights and said he would never carry out a raid to return handcuffed Americans to the U.S."We are the opposite of the Nazis," he wrote in a post on social media platform is the third-largest U.S. trading partner in Latin U.S. is Colombia's largest trading partner, largely due to a 2006 free trade agreement that generated $33.8 billion in two-way trade in 2023 and a $1.6 billion U.S. trade surplus, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.- EndsTune InMust Watch
BBC News
28-01-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Colombian air force planes sent to fetch deportees from US
US officials had said earlier that the visa restrictions would not be lifted until the migrants who had been turned back on Sunday had landed in Colombia. Neither the US nor the Colombian government have provided details of the deal that defused the situation. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a statement that "the Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump's terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay". Meanwhile, Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said that the "impasse" with Washington had been "overcome". Murillo added that his government would continue to receive Colombian deportees in "dignified conditions". It is not currently clear if Colombia will continue sending air force planes to the US to collect deported migrants or if Tuesday's two flights were a one-off. Central American and South American leaders are expected to discuss how to deal with the Trump administration's migration policy at a summit convened by Honduras in the wake of the Colombia-US spat. President Petro has already confirmed his attendance.
The Independent
28-01-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Colombia backs down in face of Trump tariff threats over migrants deported on military planes
The White House says Colombia has agreed to President Donald Trump 's terms following a weekend dispute over deportation flights from the United States using military aircraft, averting a trade war within the first week of Trump 's presidency. Trump threatened Colombia with 'decisive retaliatory measures' including tariffs and visa sanctions after Colombia denied entry to two U.S. flights on military planes carrying people who were allegedly living in the country without legal permission. 'The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump's terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Sunday. In remarks in Spanish, Colombian Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said the country 'will continue to receive Colombians deported, guaranteeing them dignified conditions as citizens subject to rights.' 'The government, under the leadership of Gustavo Petro, has at its disposal the presidential plane to receive the Colombians that would have been deported today,' he said. 'Colombia reiterates that the diplomatic channels for interlocution will be open to maintain the rights, the national interest and the dignity of our citizens.' The dispute followed Colombia's initial refusal on Sunday to accept military planes carrying immigrants, with Petro arguing that his country wanted to secure the arrival of immigrants in 'dignified conditions' using civilian aircraft. The flights, carried out on U.S. military C-17 aircraft, each carried roughly 80 people. 'A migrant is not a criminal and should be treated with the dignity a human being deserves,' he wrote. 'We will receive our nationals in civilian airplanes, without treating them as criminals. Colombia must be respected.' Trump then threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on Colombia for 'all goods' going to the U.S. In a week, those tariffs will be raised to 50 percent, the president claimed. He added that a travel ban and visa revocations will be imposed on Colombian government officials, as well as 'all allies and supporters.' Trump also said that 'visa sanctions' would be levied against 'all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government.' The American president also promised that there would be 'Enhanced Customs and Border Protection Inspections of all Colombian Nationals and Cargo on national security grounds.' 'These measures are just the beginning,' he said. '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! Petro had initially said that Colombia would not accept military deportation flights from the U.S. until the Trump White House sets up a process to treat Colombian migrants with 'dignity and respect.' 'I do not authorize the entry of North American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory,' Petro said on X. 'The U.S. must establish a protocol of dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them.' Petro noted that Colombia had already turned away military flights with Colombian deportees. 'I cannot make migrants stay in a country that does not want them, but if that country sends them back, it should be with dignity and respect for them and for our country,' Petro added. He said he would allow civilian planes carrying deportees to land in his country, but that he would block the arrival of military planes. 'We will receive our fellow citizens on civilian planes, without treating them like criminals,' Petro said. According to the Pew Research Center, there were 190,000 unauthorized immigrants from Colombia living in the U.S. as of 2022. The Trump administration is promising to deport millions of undocumented immigrants from the U.S., drawing scrutiny from Latin American leaders who have roundly criticized the president's treatment of immigrants. The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also asked for an explanation for the 'degrading treatment' that 88 deportees were subjected to on a U.S. repatriation flight Friday. Immigrants were discovered in handcuffs and chains and without any air conditioning, according to Brazilian officials. Petro's response — and Trump's swift threats in retaliation — tested Colombia's relationship with its most important trading partner and security ally, with remittances to Colombia making up about 3.4 percent of the Colombian economy, and most of those remittances emanate from the U.S. Petro, the first leftist Colombian president, is close to the presidents of Mexico and Brazil. He wrote on X that more than 15,600 U.S. citizens are living in Colombia without the correct documentation. Even so, he said he would not raid them and send them back to the U.S. in chains, adding that his government is 'the opposite of Nazis.' 'You won't see me burning a U.S. flag,' he added.
