Colombia president welcomes first flights of deported migrants after losing public spat with Trump

After teetering on the brink of an all-out trade war with the United States, Colombia welcomed its first flights of deported illegal immigrants, with its president heralding their "dignified" return and insisting they are not criminals. 

Two Colombian Air Force planes carrying deported Colombian nationals arrived in Bogota early on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing local media.

One plane, flying from San Diego, California, brought home 110 Colombians and the other, which departed from El Paso, Texas, brought home 91, the Colombian Foreign Ministry said on X.

"They are Colombians, they are free and dignified and they are in their homeland where they are loved," Colombia President Gustavo Petro wrote on X with images of the migrants disembarking a flight.

"The migrant is not a criminal, he is a human being who wants to work and progress, to live life."

The Colombian government hailed the returns as Petro fulfilling his commitments and said it is working on a "structured and accessible credit plan" to support the migrants' reintegration.

Trump immediately clapped back, writing in a Truth Social post he was going to slap 25% tariffs on all goods from Colombia, a travel ban on Colombian government officials and other steep financial sanctions. He said the tariffs would reach as high as 50% by next week and insisted the migrants being sent back were "illegal criminals."

At first, Petro retaliated with his own 25% tariffs on U.S. goods coming from Colombia. Petro had insisted he would not accept the return of migrants who were not treated with "dignity and respect" and who had arrived shackled or on military planes. 

But amid intense political pressure from within his own government, the former Marxist guerrilla fighter acquiesced to all U.S. demands.

President Trump hailed it as a victory for his "f--- around and find out" [FAFO]-style of governing. 

After the debacle, the 47th president posted a celebratory AI-generated image of himself dressed as a mobster next to a sign that read "FAFO."

Fox News' Morgan Phillips, Andrea Margolis, Bill Melugin, Lorraine Taylor, Landon Mion, and Reuters contributed to this report.