The suspension of flights triggered a crisis between the two countries.

On Thursday, Colombia resumed repatriation flights for citizens deported from the United States, five days before the meeting between President Gustavo Petro and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House.

RELATED:

Petro Says Constitutional Court Ruling Shields Colombia’s Ultrawealthy

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed that, in cooperation with the Colombian Air Force, flights that suspended a year ago were resumed, which “guarantees dignified treatment” for Colombian nationals.

Colombian migrants were received at Bogota’s El Dorado Airport by officials from Colombia Migration and the Colombian Red Cross. The suspension of flights had triggered the first bilateral crisis, when Petro refused to authorize the entry of planes carrying deportees in handcuffs.

The Colombian president stated that “a migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with dignity,” while Trump responded by imposing 25% tariffs on Colombian products and suspending visa appointments for days.

At the time, and through diplomatic efforts, Colombia undertook repatriation flights to San Diego and Houston, although the operation was discontinued due to factors such as the high cost of each flight.

After a year of disagreements over migration, drug trafficking, and U.S. military attacks on Venezuela, Petro and Trump spoke by phone on January 7, agreeing to a meeting at the White House on February 3.

Petro stated that the meeting would be “crucial” for humanity, and to him, recalling that the United States had canceled his visa and added him to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list, known as the Clinton List.

He also asked Colombians residing in the U.S., Chile, and Argentina to return to the country, denouncing that in those nations they are treated “like slaves and dogs chased through the streets.”

teleSUR: JP

Source: EFE

IN THIS ARTICLE