In the first high-level visit by a member of U.S. President Donald Trump’s new administration, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will meet with Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia on Thursday in Bogotá. The visit comes at a critical moment for U.S.-Colombia relations, following a January 26 diplomatic meltdown over deportation flights.
The dispute erupted at 3:41 a.m. on a Sunday when Petro posted on “X,” declaring, “The U.S. cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory. The United States must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them.”
The timing – less than two weeks after Trump’s inauguration – triggered immediate fallout. Colombia had initially authorized two U.S. C-17 military planes carrying about 80 deported Colombians each to enter its airspace, among the first deportations under Trump’s new administration.
Trump responded swiftly. “I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia. This order was given by Colombia’s Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people. Petro’s denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States.”
Trump then announced a series of retaliatory measures, including:
- Emergency tariffs of 25% on Colombian imports, increasing to 50% within a week.
- Visa revocations for Colombian government officials and their families.
- Enhanced border inspections on Colombian nationals and cargo.
- Financial sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump warned. “We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations regarding the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!”
Noem’s meeting at Casa de Nariño will attempt to normalise the tone for U.S.-Colombia relations under Trump. The agenda is expected to focus on deportation policies, border security, and regional migration flows, particularly through the treacherous Darién Gap, a major transit point for migrants heading north. According to Sarabia, Colombia has received 15 deportation flights and repatriated 1,500 nationals.
Before arriving in Bogotá, Noem will visit El Salvador, where she will tour the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a mega-prison designed to house criminal gang members under strict security measures. The facility, inaugurated in 2023 by President Nayib Bukele, can hold up to 40,000 inmates.
CECOT has become central to Trump’s immigration crackdown. In mid-March, the U.S. deported 261 Venezuelans to El Salvador, alleging they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang. However, detainees – some of whom are reportedly Colombian-Venezuelan dual nationals – find themselves in legal limbo, without access to representation from U.S courts. Families insist their relatives have no ties to crime, some imprisoned merely for having tattoos.
The Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro has condemned the ”kidnappings” by U.S. authorities, and has called on El Salvador’s Supreme Court to “evaluate” the legality of the detentions. The mass deportations are being carried out under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, an obscure law allowing the government to expel foreign nationals deemed threats during times of war.
As a key ally of President Trump, Bukele has agreed to receive more deported migrants in El Salvador’s prisons, including those from other nations in the hemisphere, raising the ire of Latin America’s leftist leaders, among them Petro. Petro has labelled CECOT a “concentration camp.”
With the U.S. intensifying its crackdown on irregular migration, Colombia remains a strategic partner – not just as a transit country but also as a recipient of deportees. The outcome of Noem’s visit will determine the future of U.S.-Colombia cooperation on migration, security, and narcotics interdiction – just months before the U.S. could “decertify” Colombia for failing to meet coca eradication targets.
