When President Gustavo Petro of Colombia announced on social media on Sunday that he had turned back U.S. military planes carrying deportees, President Trump came down hard.
He threatened tariffs and penalties so extreme Mr. Petro was forced to back down. “They pushed until he had to bend,” Jorge Enrique Robledo, a former longtime Colombian senator, said in an interview.
Later that day, the White House and Mr. Petro’s government announced that Colombia would welcome all Colombian deportees, including those on military jets, and Mr. Trump declared victory.
The crisis riveted attention to the Trump administration’s deportation efforts; it also raised questions about the military planes deporting migrants, and why they angered Mr. Petro and other Latin American leaders.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Have military planes always been used for deportations?
- Is the Trump administration deporting people only on military planes?
- Where have military planes taken deported migrants?
- Who are the migrants on the military planes?
- Why did Colombia’s president get upset over U.S. military planes?
- What are other countries saying about military planes?
Have military planes always been used for deportations?
No. Rarely, in recent times, if ever, defense officials say.
As part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal migration, Mr. Trump signed an executive order last week authorizing the U.S. military to assist in securing the border.