Colombia avoids trade war with US amid calls for calm

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has averted an economic disaster at the 11th hour after diplomats from his government and the US reached a deal on deportation flights but the Colombian business community has called for cooler heads to prevail as Colombians bemoaned cancelled US visa appointments.

US President Donald Trump had threatened tariffs and sanctions to punish Colombia for refusing to accept military flights carrying deportees, part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.

But in a statement late on Sunday, the White House said Colombia had agreed to accept the migrants after all and the US would not impose the penalties.

Colombia's Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said separately the country's presidential plane was ready to carry deportees.

Colombia's ambassador to the US, Daniel Garcia-Pena, a long-time diplomat and former peace commissioner, was key to the late-night resolution of the dispute, a Colombian foreign office source said, after "very tense" discussions.

Garcia-Pena sought to paint the late-night reversal as a victory for Colombia.

"There was a win-win here. The United States withdrew the threat of tariffs and Colombia was able to get the United States to accept that the treatment given to our citizens should be dignified," Garcia-Pena told local television channel Caracol.

Asked if Trump had used Petro as an example to other countries, a White House source with knowledge of the matter said "absolutely. Yes. Countries have an obligation to accept repatriation flights".

"The United States is simply sending back the criminals that Colombia sent to the United States," the source added.

Petro's condemnation of the use of military planes, saying deportees were being treated like criminals and that his administration is "the opposite of the Nazis," seemed to rile Trump more than similar spats with Mexico and Brazil.

The showdown between Petro and Trump, who has been in office a week, played out through verbose posts on social media, with Petro on X and Trump on the Truth Social platform.

The measures announced by Trump, including a 25 per cent tariff on all Colombian goods that was set to rise to 50 per cent in a week and emergency treasury, banking and financial sanctions, would have had an "immense impact" on the Colombian economy, said Bruce Mac Master, president of business association ANDI.

"It was very worrying how the president (Petro) approached the problem because he was not conscious about all the consequences that it would have for the country," Mac Master told Reuters.

"It's as if Colombia had raised its hand and said 'I want to be part of the fight, please include me.' Well, they included us and we learned how we could potentially lose a lot," Mac Master said, adding that leaders in Brazil and Mexico had handled the issue better.

The cancellation of visa appointments at the US embassy in Bogota frustrated many people, who told Reuters they had received emails saying appointments would be rescheduled.

The rigorous visa process for Colombians to go to the US, including as tourists, can take years and come at great expense for those who must travel to the capital for several embassy appointments.

"We hope the president (Petro) will fix this," said Diosa Camacho, who travelled from the eastern city of Bucaramanga.

Camacho said she had been engaged in the visa process for more than a year.

Valentina Forero said her family has been in the process for two years and though she wants deportees to be treated with respect, she wished the spat had been handled differently.

"They should have discussed it between the two governments and not included the people," she said.

"It wasn't diplomatic."