Colombian President Gustavo Petro speaking during a press conference in Bogota, Colombia, on February 8, 2024, after a meeting with the United Nations Security Council.
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Colombia has denied entry to two U.S. military deportation flights, according to officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the Defense Department.
The flights, carried out on U.S. military C-17 aircraft, were carrying about 80 Colombian migrants each and had departed from California, the defense official told NBC News.
Initially cleared for landing, the flights were grounded after Colombian President Gustavo Petro suddenly revoked all diplomatic clearances for the aircraft, the official said.
This comes after Mexico temporarily blocked two U.S. planes with 80 passengers each from landing last week, frustrating deportation plans and sparking tensions. While the issue was later resolved, Mexican officials have express opposition to the United States’ unilateral actions around immigration policy.
In a statement shared on X, Petro criticized the use of military planes for deportation.
“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.”
The Brazilian government condemned what it considered to be the degrading treatment of its nationals who were on a ICE repatriation flight Friday, citing the use of handcuffs, a broken air conditioning system and other violations of a bilateral agreement that ensures humane treatment.
On Friday, Guatemala received about 265 deported nationals on three flights from the U.S., two of which were military aircraft, according to the Guatemalan Migration Institute.
The flights are part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, initiated through executive orders during Trump’s first week in office. Alongside deportation efforts, the administration has deployed an additional 1,500 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to strengthen enforcement.
