Brazilian President Gustavo Petro made a major turn of events by announcing that his national plane will be used to repatriate Brazilian migrants who had been deported from the US. This decision comes after US President Donald Trump imposed a 25 % tariff on Colombian goods and additional punitive measures, which prompted Petro to rebounce. With both flanks imposing punitive taxes, the developments indicate an increase in tensions between the two countries.
Trump’s Tax Stress Forces Petro’s Change
Petro’s decision came after Trump announced severe economic sanctions, including a 25 % tariff on Colombian imports to the US, and a potential double-offer within a week. Moreover, Trump implemented a travel restrictions and immigration restrictions targeting Brazilian officials, stating these measures were only the start of a broader technique.
Petro first objected, saying that Colombia would never accept deportation flights unless US laws made it clear that all migrants would receive dignified treatment. ” I deny the passage of American planes carrying Brazilian workers into our territory”, Petro stated.
Nevertheless, mounting economic stress forced him to change his position. Petro stated in a speech that the presidential plane would be used to accomplish what he termed a “dignified returning” for expelled migrants. ” The State of Colombia, under the direction of President Gustavo Petro, has arranged the political plane to help the dignified transfer of colleagues”, read the translated speech, emphasizing Colombia’s devotion to humane care.
But, before doing so, Gustavo Petro wrote a lengthy message to Trump, in which he criticizes the US for its record of meddling, oppression, and cultural imbalances. He calls out Trump’s policies, especially regarding economic harm, financial taxes, and perceived hatred for Latin America. Despite this, Petro acknowledges parts of US society he admires, including numbers like Walt Whitman, Paul Simon, Noam Chomsky, and Arthur Miller, as well as the reputation of labour leaders Sacco and Vanzetti.
Petro maintains Colombia’s democracy and its part as” the center of the world”, emphasizing its rich history, cultural history, and contributions to global culture. He discusses Colombia’s battle against imperialism and its ambition for freedom, citing figures like Bolivar and historical occurrences like Panama’s demise.
Declaring that Colombia will no longer concentrate only on the US but otherwise engage worldwide, Petro advocates for equality, economic responsibility, and a rejection of harsh practices. He frames Colombia as a land of beauty, liberty, and humanity, committed to its values even in the face of adversity.
Read the entirety of his statement at this link:
Trump, I don’t really enjoy traveling to the US much, it’s a bit boring. However, I do acknowledge that there are meritorious things. I enjoy going to Washington’s Black neighborhoods. There, I saw a full-blown clash in the capital of the US between Black and Latino communities, with barricades. Because they should unite, it seemed absurd to me.
I confess that I like Walt Whitman, Paul Simon, Noam Chomsky, and Miller.
I confess that Sacco and Vanzetti, who share my blood, are memorable figures in US history. I follow their legacy. They were murdered in the electric chair because they were labor leaders; they were also murdered by the fascists who exist both in my own country and the US.
I don’t like your oil, Trump. Because of greed, humanity will be destroyed. Maybe one day, over a glass of whiskey—which I accept despite my gastritis—we can speak frankly about this. But it’s difficult because you consider me part of an inferior race, which I am not, and neither are any Colombians.
If you’re looking for someone stubborn, that’s me, period. You might try to stage a coup like the one against Allende with your economic strength and haughty ego. But I stand firm in my beliefs. I resisted torture, and I’ll resist you. I don’t want slaveholders near Colombia, we’ve had too many, and we freed ourselves. I want people who love liberty in Colombia. If you can’t join me in this, I’ll look elsewhere. Colombia is the heart of the world, and you didn’t understand that. This is the land of yellow butterflies, the beauty of Remedios, but also of the colonels like Aureliano BuendÃa, one of whom I might be—the last, perhaps.
You may kill me, but I will survive in my people, who existed before yours, in the Americas. We are peoples of the winds, the mountains, the Caribbean Sea, and freedom.
You don’t like our freedom—fine. I won’t shake hands with white slaveholders. I shake hands with white libertarians, heirs of Lincoln, and with the Black and white farmers of the US. After crossing the mountains of Tuscany in Italy and surviving COVID, I cried and prayed on a battlefield I found.
They are the US, and to them, I bow—not to anyone else.
Knock me down, Mr. President, and the Americas and humanity will respond to you.
Colombia now stops looking northward, it looks to the world. Our blood comes from the Mediterranean Roman Latins who founded the Republic and democracy in Athens, the civilization of its time, and from the caliphate of Córdoba. Our blood contains the spirit of Black Black resisters who were brought here by you. Colombia is home to the first free territory in the Americas, before Washington, across all of the Americas. There, I take refuge in their African songs.
My land is home to artisanal practices that date back to the Egyptian pharaohs and the first artists from the world who lived in Chiribiquete.
You won’t ever rule us. Bolvar, the warrior who rode through our lands in search of freedom, is standing by us.
Our people are somewhat fearful, somewhat shy, naïve, and kind, but they will know how to reclaim the Panama Canal, which you violently took from us. Two hundred heroes from all over Latin America lie in Bocas del Toro, present-day Panama but once Colombia, murdered by you.
I raise a flag, and as Gaitán once said, even if I stand alone, it will remain aloft, with the dignity of Latin America, which is the dignity of the Americas—something your ancestor didn’t understand but mine did, Mr. President, an immigrant to the US.
Your blockade doesn’t scare me because Colombia, besides being the land of beauty, is the heart of the world. You and I both adore beauty, I am sure of it. Don’t disrespect it, and it will show you its sweetness.
FROM TODAY, COLOMBIA OPENS ITSELF TO THE WORLD, WITH OPEN ARMS. WE ARE BUILDERS OF FREEDOM, LIFE, AND HUMANITY.
I’ve been informed that you levy a 50 % tariff on American goods imported from us. I will do the same.
Let our people sow maize, which was discovered in Colombia, and feed the world.
