President Gustavo Petro stated, this Sunday, January 26, 2025, that There are 15,660 established Americans in the country “irregularly” and invited them to come and “regularize their situation.”
(See: Trump orders ‘immediate’ revocation of visas for officials of the National Government).
“There are 15,660 Americans established in Colombia irregularly. They must approach our immigration service to regularize their situation.“said the president on social network X.
Petro further noted that “North American citizens who wish can be in Colombia“because he believes”in human freedom. But more than 15,660 are irregular and by Colombian laws they must regularize their stay“.
(See: Colombia runs out of visas: the US suspended the processing of this document in the country).
“You will never see me burning a gringo flag or doing a ‘ratzia’ to return illegals in handcuffs to the US. Real libertarians will never attack human freedom. We are the opposite of the Nazis“said the president.
North American citizens who wish can be in Colombia, I believe in human freedom.
But more than 15,666 are irregular and by Colombian laws they must regularize their stay.
You will never see me burning a gringo flag or doing a “ratzia” for… https://t.co/HzwkhzR3sr
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 26, 2025
This statement occurred just a few hours after Petro himself assured that did not allow planes carrying citizens deported by the United States to enter the country because they did not receive decent treatment, which led Washington to suspend visa processing in Colombia as of this Monday, January 27.
In that sense, the president assured that “First is the dignity of Colombia and Latin America“, since he considered that the “Migrants are human beings and subjects of rights and should be treated as such“.
(See: The US suspends international aid to Colombia and several countries around the world).
This after he assured that the United States “cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals” and urged that country to “establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants” before Colombia receives them.
Migrants.
The announcement comes amid the controversy that exists in several Latin American countries over deportations as part of the US president’s immigration policy, Donald Trump.
The Government of Brazil denounced on Saturday the use of handcuffs by US authorities against citizens of that country during a deportation flight.
(See: President Petro explained that he will receive those deported from the US on civil planes).
The Minister of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski, ordered the Federal Police to ask the US agents to “immediately” remove the handcuffs, as soon as the plane made a technical stop in the city of Manaus, according to a statement.
On Friday, the white house indicated that the deportations of migrants had “begun”, in reference to Trump’s main campaign promise to carry out the largest mass expulsion operation of foreigners in the history of the United States.
On the same day, the first two deportation flights to Guatemala They arrived in that country from Laredo (Texas).
(See: Trump begins his massive deportation campaign of irregular immigrants in the US.).
Petro has questioned some of Trump’s decisions or policies, and last Tuesday he described as “dangerous” the comment made by the tenant of the White House about Latin America, a region about which the North American president said: “We don’t need them.”
EFE
