First resort: On Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive
Donald Trump should use diplomacy, not coercion, in deportation of migrants
Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive hit its first hurdle on Sunday (January 26, 2025) when Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused permission to two United States military planes carrying migrants to land. A furious Mr. Trump announced that the U.S. would impose a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods, which would be raised to 50%. The U.S. also threatened to impose banking and financial sanctions and issue travel bans on Colombian officials and associates. Mr. Petro, a former guerrilla, responded in kind by saying Colombia would also impose tariffs up to 50% on American goods and refused to “shake hands with white slaveholders”. But Bogota, under pressure, eventually accepted to take back the migrants “with dignity and respect”. A trade war would have been bad news for both countries whose bilateral trade stood at $53.5 billion in 2022, with a $4 billion surplus for the U.S. High tariffs would have been a body blow for Colombia, as the U.S. is its largest trading partner. With tariffs and financial and political sanctions, America could cripple Colombia’s economy and destabilise its polity at a time when its fight with guerrillas is escalating after a lull. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Petro backtracked and agreed to accept what the White House said was “all its terms”.
Colombia and other South American countries have been taking undocumented migrants back from the U.S. in recent years. In January, there were 90 deportation flights from the U.S. to its southern neighbours, eight of which landed in Colombia. But what turned a regular exercise into a controversy was the handling of the deportation by the Trump administration — the use of mostly military planes, which angered the Colombians. Mr. Petro also raised concerns about the way migrants were treated by the U.S. Earlier, Brazil had also raised complaints of “degrading treatment” of its deported citizens. They were handcuffed, and some of them were not given water or allowed to use the washroom during the flight, according to Brazilian officials. But Mr. Trump does not seem to care. He wanted to make an example of Colombia so that other neighbours will not challenge his handling of the mass deportation. He may have forced Colombia to backtrack for now, using America’s economic muscle, but this kind of coercion could backfire in the long run in a region where America has always tried to maintain its geopolitical hegemony. And the inhumane conditions in which hundreds of migrants are being deported everyday is a blot on America’s tall claims of protecting human rights. A better way of handling this crisis is through diplomacy. Instead of imposing his will on other countries through threats of tariffs and sanctions, Mr. Trump could use the diplomatic channel, seek consensus and then implement his policy in a much more cordial way. But for Mr. Trump, alas, coercion is the first resort.