Colombian President Gustavo Petro is calling undocumented Colombian nationals in the United States to return to their home country "as soon as possible." He also announced that his administration would seek to provide financial credits to those who choose to do so and request one.
"I ask Colombian men and women without documents in the U.S. to leave their jobs immediately in that country and return to Colombia as soon as possible," Petro said through a post on X on Friday. "Wealth is produced only by the working people. The Department of Social Prosperity (DPS) will seek to provide productive loans to those who return and enroll in its programs. Let's build social wealth in Colombia."
Le solicito a las colombianas y colombianos sin documentos en EEUU dejar sus trabajos de inmediato en ese país y retornar a Colombia lo más pronto posible
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 31, 2025
La riqueza la produce solo el pueblo trabajador.
El Departamento de Prosperidad Social, DPS, buscará entregar créditos…
The statement comes in the wake of a diplomatic dispute between the Petro and Trump administrations, which began after the former refused to allow two U.S. military planes carrying deported Colombians to land in the country. The move sparked tensions and a threat of a tariff war from Trump before the situation was eventually resolved and Colombian government arranged for its own air force planes to repatriate the deportees.
During the conflict, both presidents used X as a battleground with Petro expressing that "a migrant is not a criminal," in regards to deportees being sent back in handcuffs.
The diplomatic dispute between Petro and Trump over deportation procedures has fueled ongoing debate in Colombia. While some citizens sympathized with the deportees' plight—many of whom arrived in handcuffs—critics argue that Petro's response created unnecessary tensions.
"Petro's so-called 'battle against the empire' lasted no more than three hours, because, obviously, mistreating Colombia's main trade partner would mean destroying the Colombian economy," Colombian congressman Christian Garcés told The Latin Times on Wednesday.
The number of undocumented Colombians currently residing in the U.S. is not precisely known. According to 2022 data from the Pew Research Center, approximately one million undocumented migrants in the U.S. are from South America, though no breakdown by country was provided.
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