The announcement of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, to impose new 25% tariffs on Colombian products, after Colombia’s rejection of receiving two flights of deported migrants, caused a diplomatic crisis and shook the policy of the South American country. Personalities of all ideological currents rejected the American measure for the impact it will have on the Colombian economy, very dependent on the US, its largest commercial partner. But former ministers, former presidents and congressmen disagreed on the actions of the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, in this crisis that seemed exceeded at the end of the night. If his allies supported him, the opponents accused him of irresponsibility and having acted with “brave populist.”
Beyond the president, the government called for containment. The designated chancellor, Laura Sarabia – which is expected to take possession on February 1 – has asked for “calm.” “Diplomatic routes and dialogue are the way to ensure the decent treatment of all Colombians. We are in continuous contact with the United States government so that mutual respect and serenity continue to guide in our relations, ”he said in X after a cross -accusations between Petro and Trump.
Social Network X Truth (EFE)
The vice president of Colombia, France Márquez, avoided mentioning the clash. “Being a migrant does not make you a criminal. What is at stake is people’s well -being. We must guarantee the safe return of our compatriots to our soil. ” And he appealed to dialogue: “Both the Colombian people, as the Latin Americans and Americans deserve to build paths of peace. Today more than ever, we must unite for the well -being of our peoples. ”
But for many the damage was already done. The former right-wing president Iván Duque (2018-2022) described as a “act of tremendous irresponsibility” Petro’s rejection to receive the two deported planes at dawn on Sunday with Colombian migrants. “You are brave populists from the Petro government in the face of a US National Security decision are unleashing sanctioning measures whose cost for the country and its citizens are enormous,” he said.
In a more conciliatory tone, the ex-president Centrista Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018) referred to the subject: “We call on moderation that George Washington recommended so much and to dialogue. Relations between countries, especially between nearby partners such as Colombia and the US, cannot be conducted based on threats and accusations. ” In turn, the liberal left Ernesto Samper (1994-1998) has assured that the treatment of the new US government to Latin American migrants “is inhuman and unworthy.” “From the Nazi raids against the Jews there was no treatment for people of this nature.”
Trump’s decision has borne the most energetic detractors of Petro. Although the ex -president Álvaro Uribe Vélez did not talk about the subject, his followers blame in front of the “anarchy” of the leftist government. The ultra -right and follower congresswoman of Trump María Fernanda Cabal urged Congress to open a political trial to tell the president: “The country cannot continue suffering the consequences of this communist disaster.”
From the left, former senator Jorge Robledo, a fierce critic of the president, avoided criticizing him, and in his place he headed against the American president. “Unacceptable, for the aggressive and illegal, the decision of the president of the USA, Donald Trump, to increase the tariffs to Colombia and sanction Colombians by closing the income,” he said in X.
“Colombia is sovereign!”
President Petro’s allies coincide: in their entirety, Trump’s fault is. Congresswoman María José Pizarro, of the Historical Pact Government Party, said that the president only “requests decent treatment for his nationals.” “There are those who are willing to return to the attitude of subordination, the one that centuries characterized international politics, which gave sovereignty at the expense of their democracies, territories and their peoples. Colombia is sovereign, Latin America must join! We are the nations of Simón Bolívar, ”he said.
Another great partner of the president, Senator Iván Cepeda, argued that the problem is not that Trump increases tariffs or freezes the visa process for Colombians. “The real problem is that the extreme right block of power that has reached the White House will apply an imperial supremacism model that will try to submit to governments and Latin American societies to their designs,” he said.
In contrast, the president of the Congress of the Republic, the conservative Efraín Cepeda, asked the US government to not evaluate Colombia for current actions, “but for the more than 200 years of a fluid relationship.” “Colombia cannot pay the consequences of an erratic, irresponsible and ideologized president.” Several Congress parties, such as the opposition Radical Change or the Independent Party of the U, urged a prompt solution to the diplomatic crisis and have indicated that they will reject “the unilateral measures that violate the acquired commitments”, in reference to the Free Trade Agreement Between both nations, effective since 2012.
In any case, no Colombian was happy with the measures announced Trump, which in addition to the commercial impact also affected travelers, who had been subjected to more rigorous inspections. In social networks, Internet users neither did they agree. Some presented cases of families that may not meet or on paid vacations that are now in question. Others advocated the “dignity of the people” and ironized that “Snobs“They can no longer go to Disney World.
