Carlos Arias never imagined that he was going to be in the midst of an international conflict between the first power in the world and his country, Colombia. They uploaded it on Sunday to a military plane from the United States, handcuffed hands and feet. Migration agents were treated “as dogs” to him and the other 200 deported. They had their heads over their knees throughout the journey. They were mocking if they tried to go to the bathroom. The president of the United States, Donald Trump, said of them that they were criminals. His, Gustavo Petro, enraged by that unworthy treatment and did not let them land. And did the same with a second flight. Then Trump threatened with a commercial war that, in the long run, would have caused catastrophic damage to the Colombian economy. “We were 12 hours tied,” he recalls. Arias, a 34 -year -old waiter, treated him as a terrorist.
A Mexican tourist thought on the morning of Tuesday that the arrival of an international star at El Dorado airport, in Bogotá, was expected. Some officials of the Mayor’s Office, fun for the occurrence, quickly explained that it was the arrival of two flights from the Colombian Air Force with 201 deportees from the USA. For them, and for almost any Colombian, so much repercussion was an obvious: Unlike the other 475 flights in the last five years, those on Tuesday motivated Trump to threaten Petro to sink his economy.
Minutes later, the first migrants began. Among them, 26 boys and girls escorted by the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF). Everyone wore masks and a plastic, transparent bag, with the few belongings that carried – the US authorities confiscated their bags. Some explained that they were tired and that they preferred to continue with the return home as quickly as possible. Others were eager to denounce the abuse to which they were subjected in the US. “They treated us as if we were dogs,” said Daniel Figueroa.
These abuse are even greater than those denounced during the administration of Democrat Joe Biden. Upon learning that the migrants arrived handcuffed in a military plane, Petro rejected the landing of the two planes, which had to return to San Diego (California) and El Paso (Texas). Trump did not stay crossed and took the opportunity to send an exemplary message to the entire world: he announced 25%tariffs, canceled visas of Colombian officials and suspended the expedition of visas of the Bogotá embassy. “These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations of receiving criminals! ”, He wrote on social networks.
Migrants say they had no idea of the dimension of what happened. Arias, from Medellín, says that the US authorities gave them information to droppers. According to rebuild, Sunday’s journey was like this: his flight left San Diego, landed emergency in Houston due to medical problems of several passengers, continued for Colombia, returned to the US and landed in El Paso (Texas). All that with the head on the knees – by the shackles -, with difficulties in urinating and with constant teasing. Then, they returned them “to the dungeon” in the passage with inaccurate explanations, such as that the Colombian government had not approved the landing permits in time.
With the hours, however, they knew through family calls everything that had happened. Also the violence with which Trump referred to them on Monday. “They scold us because we had them handcuffed in a plane and he [Petro] He said: ‘This is not a way to treat people.’ You understand that you are murderers, narcos capos, members of bands, the rough people you have met or seen, ”said the US president. Arias responds that he is not a narco and that he chose to migrate to the American country because he has family there. “We are good people. We seek to save our lives and help our families. ” Daniel Oquendo, a 33 -year -old mechanic, adds: “You can look at my history, I have not gone through the narco. He judges others and generalizes. It is as if we said that all Americans are murderers because there are shootings every time. ”
Colombia’s chancellor, Luis Gilberto Murillo, confirmed on Tuesday that none of the 201 migrants has a criminal record, neither in his country nor in the United States. “They are not criminals,” he emphasized. President Petro, on the other hand, welcomed them through X and questioned the stigmatization that Trump makes. “They are Colombians, they are free and worthy and are in their homeland, where they are loved. The migrant is not a criminal; He is a human being who wants to work and progress, live life, ”he said. Something similar comment on migrants in El Dorado: some emphasize that they escape violence; Others seeking better economic opportunities.
Arias and Oquendo became friends during the detention days. Now, without laces even in their shoes – they were also removed – and with their plastic bags, they look for how to continue their journey to Medellín. The first is particularly frustrated by abuse in the US. In the past, he worked at a Hotel in Medellín and constantly saw Americans who arrive in their city to get involved in criminal activities. “They come to consume cocaine and sexually exploit minors. That is worse than we do, ”he says in reference to the fact that he sought to escape violence – he is displaced from the armed conflict and tells that his perpetrators fulfilled his conviction in November. Oquendo coincides: “Trump has to look more in before looking out.”
The shackles
The Trump government pointed out Sunday night that the crisis had been overcome after Colombia turned back in all its claims. The Colombian Foreign Ministry, with a more diplomatic language, said it would continue “receiving citizens who return as deported, guaranteeing decent conditions.” However, it is difficult to fulfill this commitment to improve the conditions of the deportees: Colombia has complained about the abuse, without changing. Juan González, exassor for Latin America of former President Biden, acknowledged on Monday that these conditions also existed in the previous administration. “Sometimes it is not known if people who are being deported have a criminal record (…). When they are seen handcuffed in the cameras, it offends a little. But you have to recognize that it is for security [de la tripulación]”He said on W Radio.
The big difference of this occasion has been that Trump sent migrants in military airplanes and that Petro, upset about this degrading detail, decided to bring them back in Colombian airplanes. They were also military, but migrants were no longer handcuffed or were victims of insults. Some migrants are very grateful to Petro, such as Jhony and Daniel Figueroa, from the department of Putumayo, on the border with Ecuador. “What did it do because now we came well. You are respecting our rights, ”they say. “The guards there, on the other hand, are trained to torture. They told us: ‘Wey, what is the tired? Do you want me to disappear? ”They say.
Arias and Oquendo, from Medellín, partially coincide. They recognize that they traveled much better on the Colombian plane, but they do not neglect their antipathy for Petro. “If he received us on Sunday, we saved two more days of dungeon. I feel used. He does it to look like a savior and is very good, but do it with the next [antes de que estén en vuelo]”, Oquendo remarks.
Liliana Gutiérrez, meanwhile, is still waiting for her nephew Mateo, a truck cargo and download worker. He arrived in Bogotá after a nine -hour trip by bus from Medellín and a coffee saleswoman helped her ride public transport to reach El Dorado. It is next to the rest, supported on a window through which the luggage collection zone is seen. He says that his sister told him that Matthew, 21, is emaciated. He insists that his nephew only was traveling in search of better opportunities. He regrets that Trump Manche the good name of his people. “He is a healthy, hardworking and already. Not as President Trump said, they were criminals, bad people [se quiebra]. You cannot say that go with all the Marranos [poner a todos en el mismo saco]because my nephew is a child who was looking for better opportunities. ”
