It has become a war of words between Trump and Petropublished at 22:15 Greenwich Mean Time 26 January

22:15 GMT 26 January

Ione Wells
South America correspondent

This is now not just a war of trade, but a war of words.

It’s no secret that Colombia’s President Petro doesn’t like Donald Trump – he’s heavily criticised his policies on migration and the environment in the past.

That just ratcheted up.

Petro has today said Trump would “wipe out the human species because of greed” and accused Trump of considering Colombians an “inferior race”.

He goes on to say that he is “stubborn” and that while Trump can try to “carry out a coup” with “economic strength and arrogance”, he will, in short, fight back.

Not only does Petro appear to threaten retaliatory tariffs, but most significantly he says: “From today on, Colombia is open to the entire world, with open arms.”

Image source, Reuters

While Trump is unlikely to take threats from Colombia, this is something that should worry a US president who wants to tackle migration.

Currently, tens of thousands of migrants from around the world – facilitated by criminal gangs – travel through Colombia every year to reach North America through the treacherous Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama.

The question now is how people will respond: will Colombia’s open invitation mean more attempt the journey?

Or will the threat of a closed US border at the end, and scenes of handcuffed deportees, deter people?

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has threatened to impose a 50% tariff on US imports in retaliation to a similar move by Trump.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said he had ordered his administration to impose a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods entering America.

Image source, Reuters

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said in a statement he will make his presidential plane available for the "dignified return of Colombian nationals".

These nationals were scheduled to arrive on deportation flights from the US this morning.

As we've been reporting, Gustavo has prevented two US military planes from landing in Colombia with deported migrants.

Image source, Getty Images

As the Trump administration has a diplomatic spat with Colombia, meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the UK's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been speaking to the US president.

Starmer has paid tribute to Trump for his "role in securing the landmark ceasefire and hostages deal in Gaza" during a call between the two leaders.

The conversation took place hours after Trump praised Sir Keir for having done a "very good job thus far" and said the pair have a "very good relationship".

The incoming Trump administration worked in close co-ordination with that of his predecessor, Joe Biden, over the deal, which was agreed between Israel and Hamas earlier this month.

Trump and Starmer have agreed to meet in person. Sir Keir wrote on X following the call: "I look forward to meeting soon to strengthen the close ties between our countries."

• Read more about Starmer's chat with Trump

Image source, Getty Images

We're now getting more information from the Trump administration about its disagreement with Colombia's president.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says in a newly issued statement that Colombian President Gustavo Petro had initially authorised the deportation flights and then cancelled them "when the planes were in the air" - referring to two military planes carrying migrant deportees to Colombia that were barred from landing by its government.

He says that the US president "has made it clear" that the US will "no longer be lied to nor taken advantage of". He adds that the US sanctions and tariffs to be imposed on Colombia will illustrate that the administration is "unwavering in our commitment to end illegal immigration and bolster America's border security".

"It is the responsibility of each nation to take back their citizens who are illegally present in the United States in a serious and expeditious manner," he says.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted two photos of immigrants boarding military aircraft for deportation flights earlier this weekend.

You can see chains wrapped around each person's waist. It appears their hands are tied or cuffed in front of them.

"President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences," she wrote in the post.

Image source, US Government

Image source, US Government

Trump's Colombia retaliation a stark warning to US allies and adversariespublished at 20:17 Greenwich Mean Time 26 January

20:17 GMT 26 January

Anthony Zurcher
North American correspondent reporting from Miami

For his first week in office, Donald Trump has seemed to prioritise immigration policy over trade measures - even if the latter was a key campaign promise. Now, as if to drive that point home, the president’s first major tariffs are being enacted to punish a nation that he views as not sufficiently supporting America’s new hard-line immigration polices.

Colombia only refused the landing of two US military flights with undocumented deportees, but that appears to have been enough for Trump to drop the hammer on one of the US’s closest allies in South America.

On a day when Trump has no public appearances - he’s at his Miami resort, reportedly playing a round of golf - the president has chosen to make an example of the Latin American country. And it serves as a stark warning to US allies and adversaries alike: If you don’t co-operate with the US, the consequences will be severe.

This is a formidable challenge for Colombia, but it is also a test for the new Trump administration.

If the president's sanctions lead to higher prices for American consumers, on Colombian imports like coffee and produce, will the American public object? Will they be willing to tolerate some financial pain incurred by advancing Trump’s foreign policy agenda?

These kind of tariffs are a test of will. And, from the looks of it, this is just Trump’s opening move.

Tariffs on Colombia could punish American consumerspublished at 20:05 Greenwich Mean Time 26 January

20:05 GMT 26 January

Ione Wells
South America correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

These 25% tariffs on Colombia are likely to hurt US consumers and Colombian exporters.

The US imports about 27% of its coffee, external from Colombia, according to the US Department of Agriculture, as well as other goods like bananas, crude oil, avocados and flowers.The coffee imports alone are worth nearly $2bn (£1.6bn).

Tariffs will make importing it more expensive which - if passed onto the consumer - could mean coffee prices will rise in the US.

Importers could shift to other sources to avoid this, which would hit Colombian producers by reducing a key market.

The consequences for Colombia in a trade war with the US could be grave, as the US is the Latin American country's number one trading partner.

According to the US state department, more than $39.3bn (£31.5bn) in bilateral goods and services were exchanged in 2022 with large investments in the mining and manufacturing sectors.

The US's primary imports from Colombia include crude oil, coffee, and cut flowers.

Trump's retaliation signals a challenging diplomatic path aheadpublished at 19:41 Greenwich Mean Time 26 January

19:41 GMT 26 January

Ione Wells
South America correspondent

The sanctions and travel bans on the Colombian government and its supporters - and the breakdown in diplomatic relations that signals -is really significant.

Many, including Trump’s own pick for deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, have long argued that tackling illegal migration requires looking beyond the Mexico border. He’s argued that “working with other countries to stop such migratory flows” must be a “global imperative of US foreign policy”. But today's move will seemingly make working together a lot less likely.

Tens of thousands of migrants every year from around the world, from India to China, head north towards the US after landing in South America and travelling up through Colombia, a journeyusually facilitated by criminal gangs.

These retaliatory measures will no doubt make it harder for Trump’s administration to work with Colombia to stop this pattern. It’s worth noting too, this comes at a time when tens of thousands of Colombians have been displaced on the border with Venezuela, fleeing militia violence in a bloody battle over drug trafficking territory.

Image source, Getty Images

We've just reported Donald Trump's plan to retaliate against Colombia - a sweeping directive that includes steep import taxes on Colombian goods and a travel ban on all Colombian government officials and their allies.

But how did we get here?

Earlier today, BBC's US partner CBS News reported that two military planes from the San Diego area were expected to fly to Colombia with migrant deportees. It appears they were barred by the Colombian government.

The country's president, Gustavo Petro, wrote on social media that he had blocked the military planes' arrival. He said that the American government "can't treat Colombian migrants like criminals".

Later, he confirmed his objection was related to the use of military planes, saying civilian planes should be used. He has empahsised his view that migrant deportations must be handled humanely.

Colombia and migrants should be "respected," Petro said.

President Donald Trump says he has directed his administation to impose a raft of tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after it turned away US military flights carrying deported migrants.

On his social media platform Truth Social, the president wrote he 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".

The move "jeopardised" America's national security, Trump said, writing that he had directed his administration to "immediately" retaliate with a host of measures, including:

• Emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the US
• A travel ban and immediate visa revocations on Colombian government officials, and all allies and supporters

• Visa sanctions on all party members, family members, and supporters of the Colombian government.

"These measures are just the beginning," Trump wrote.

Image source, CBS

Federal agents conducted "targeted" immigration arrests in Chicago today, a spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement.

ICE "began conducting enhanced targeted operations today in Chicago to enforce US immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities”, the statement said.

The agents were accompanied by the newly appointed border czar Tom Homan, US officials told CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

Justice Department law enforcement agencies, which were recently given added immigration powers, also assisted the arrests.

Photos of the arrests appear to show that Dr Phil, the licensed psychologist turned daytime television star, was also present on the raids.

The TV host confirmed on X that he had embedded with Homan for the raids and alleged that they had focused on "270 high-value targets", which he says were "known criminals and terrorists".

Image source, CBS

Image source, Getty Images

More now on Colombia rejecting a US military plane carrying migrants.

The Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, has posted several messages on X criticising the US and emphasising that migrant deportations must be handled humanely.

Petro says there are 15,660 Americans living illegally in Colombia.

“You will never see me burning a gringo flag or carrying out a raid to return illegal immigrants in handcuffs to the United States," he says. "True libertarians will never attack human freedom. We are the opposite of the Nazis."

Two US officials told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that a pair military planes from the San Diego area were meant to land in Colombia today with deported migrants. However, the plans were called off due to complications.

Image source, Getty Images

As the Trump administration appears poised to conduct immigration raids in dozens of cities, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said he's afraid some immigration authorities "will not follow the law".

Speaking to Dana Bash on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, Pritzker - a Democrat who is seen as a possible 2028 presidential contender - said he supported efforts to remove violent criminals from his state, and from the country.

“Let me start by being clear that when we’re talking about violent criminals who’ve been convicted and who are undocumented, we don’t want them in our state. We want them out of the country. We hope they do get deported, and if that’s who they’re picking up, we’re all for it,” he said.

But, Pritzker added, he found it "disturbing" that officials have indicated they would be targeting "law-abiding" residents as well, those "who are holding down jobs, who have families here, who may have been here for a decade or two decades, and they’re often our neighbors and our friends".

“Why are we going after them?” he said. “These are not people who are causing problems in our country, and what we need is a path to citizenship for them.”

Image source, Reuters

Tom Homan, Trump's "border czar", says at least 100,000 beds are needed for the deportation of undocumented migrants and is urging Congress to provide the funding for the operation.

The logistics and costs of deportation remain a challenge, with millions of undocumented migrants estimated to be in the US. When asked by ABC News how they could all be deported, Tom Homan says: “Well, I’ll leave it up to Congress.”

He says it is up to the Washington lawmakers to provide funding for the large-scale deportation effort that the Trump administration is undertaking, which will require "at a minimum of 100,000" beds for detention centres.

“Congress needs to come to the table quick and give us the money we need to secure that border,” he says.

Democrats have criticised the effort to fund these centres, and they have suggested that it could be left ot private prison companies to fulfill the need for them.

The House of Representatives just passed the Laken Riley Act, which will greatly expands the immigration authorities' power to detain migrants if it becomes law and could reportedly cost $83b (£67b) over the next three years.

“We’re seeing a fundamental erosion of civil rights in this bill," Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said after it passed last week. "If a person is so much as accused of a crime, if someone wants to point a finger and accuse someone of shoplifting, they will be rounded up and put into a private detention camp and sent out for deportation without a day in court.”

Image source, Getty Images

The Republican governor of Texas, which borders Mexico, claims Trump’s immigration policy is having an immediate effect, with the number of people crossing the border dropping "dramatically".

Greg Abbott tells Fox News that within the first hour of Donald Trump’s presidency, changes are already noticeable. He says the military was sent to the border to stop people crossing illegally.

“The number of people who crossed on 19 January dropped dramatically," Abbott says,

Immigration advocates allege that large numbers of migrants are still arriving at and crossing the American southern border, but many are turning to smugglers to enter the US illegally.

The Texas governor adds that Trump - working with the "border czar" Tom Homan - has been deporting people to the countries they came from "every single day".

Image source, Reuters

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says he has refused to allow US military planes carrying deported migrants to land in the country.

Posting on X, external, Petro said migrants are not criminals and should be returned with dignity on civilian planes.

“We will receive our fellow citizens on civilian planes, without treating them like criminals,” he said.

Reuters news agency says Colombia has turned away two US military planes. Quoting an unnamed official, it reports the planes had left California carrying around 80 migrants each when Colombia revoked their clearances.

Brazil has also raised concerns about the treatment of its citizens on US deportation flights, after some arrived in handcuffs in Manaus.

Police in Brazil ordered the handcuffs to be removed, and the government sent a Brazilian Air Force plane to take the returnees to their final destination.

(Let's bring you more from JD Vance's interview with CBS, the BBC's US partner, this time about Trump's plans to end birthright citizenship, which is enshrined in the US constitution.

The move would mean that children born to illegal immigrants would not be granted US citizenship and is part of Trump's wider crackdown on illegal immigration.

Vance says allowing anyone born on US soil to automatically become a citizen is the "dumbest immigration policy in the world".

"Temporary residents, people who come in here, whether legally or illegally, and don't plan to stay, their children shouldn't become American citizens. I don't know any country that does that, or why we would be different" he says.

As a reminder, the move is currently being challenged in the courts in several US states and was blocked in federal court last week. The judge in the case called it a "blatantly unconstitutional order".

It's one of several immigration orders issued by the new Trump administration.

Image source, Reuters

Though Vice-President Vance says Trump had accomplished much already, he suggests that it could take some time for consumer prices to lower.

It came up during Vance's interview with BBC's US partner CBS News on Sunday. He was asked which of the numerous executive orders Donald Trump has signed were designed to affect rising costs.

As a reminder, Trump promised repeatedly during his election campaign that "prices will come down".

Vance says that "a number of executive orders" have caused jobs to "starting coming back into our country, which is a core part of lowering prices".

He says that grocery prices "are going to come down, but it's going to take a little bit of time", adding that the way to lower prices is to "encourage more capital investment into our country".

"Donald Trump has already taken multiple executive actions that are going to lower energy prices, and I do believe that means consumers are going to see lower prices at the pump and at the grocery store, but it's going to take a little bit of time."