Colombia’s president says government won’t accept deportation flights from US

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday said that his government wouldn’t accept flights carrying migrants deported from the United States until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with “dignity.”

Petro made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with their hands and feet restrained.

“A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves,” Petro said. “That is why I returned the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants.”

The U.S. government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press regarding aircraft and protocols used in deportations to Colombia.

Petro added that his country would receive Colombians in “civilian airplanes” and “without treatment like criminals.”

As part of a flurry of actions to make good on U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his government is using active-duty military to help secure the border and carry out deportations.

Two Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying migrants removed from the U.S. touched down early Friday in Guatemala. That same day, Honduras received two deportation flights carrying a total of 193 people.