How Latin America countries are reacting to deportations from the US

There are already several Latin American countries that have received these flights. But reactions in the region have varied from reluctance, criticism, opening or collaboration with binational agreements.

While at first the president, Gustavo Petro, refused to receive two military aircraft with Colombians deported from the United States, the idea of ​​an escalation in a commercial war between the two countries caused this decision to be reversed.

In addition to the initial increase of 25% of tariffs on “all Colombian goods entering the United States, Trump had said that in a week that rate would increase up to 50%.

In response to these measures, Petro announced in his X account a similar increase in tariffs on products imported to Colombia from the United States.

Petro’s argument to refuse this repatriation were the conditions and, specifically, that the return was made in military and non -civil aircraft.

“The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals,” Petro wrote in his X account.

The president claimed that deportations be made in “civil planes” and that a protocol is established, because “a migrant is not a criminal.”

However, after overcoming the impasse, the White House expressed in a statement that Colombia agreed “the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal immigrants in Colombia returned from the United States, including those that arrive in military planes, without limitations or delay.”

This Monday, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that the country has already received some 4,000 deported migrants, mostly Mexicans, from the United States.

Sheinbaum said that in the last week they received four aircraft with deportees, but that this is not a significant increase to other occasions.

“From January 20 to 26, 4,094 people have been received, the vast majority of them Mexican (…). So far there has been no substantive increase” in the expulsions, the president said in her morning press conference.

He also recalled that there is a sustained dialogue between the two countries on the migratory and customs issue.

“This is a job that we have in dialogue with the United States government and it is something that in Mexico has already done many years. What we ask for is respect for human rights,” he emphasized.

It is estimated that a third of the 11 million undocumented in the US are Mexican.

Trump promises to deport a million people a year. In 2012, when more deportations have been registered in the last half century, the number of repatriated did not go from 420,000, according to figures from the PEW Studies Center.

Given this, Mexico said to be prepared and have a containment plan.

“We want them to know that we are prepared, that we are ready, to support our nationals and we are certain that we are going to reach agreements with the government of President Trump once the right channels are established,” Sheinbaum said in this regard.

To do this, Mexico announced the strengthening of its consular networks in the United States, where it has 53 headquarters. He also promoted an application for the cell phone, ConsultApp, to inform migrants of their rights and also has an alert button to notify in case of imminent deportation.

He also made available to Mexicans a care network of the State. For example, they will receive a “paisan welfare card” with a 2,000 pesos bonus (about US $ 100) to cover expenses in the transfer to the place of origin and will be given access to social protection programs.

Contrary to the strap that occurred with the Petro government, the position of the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele has been different.

While it is true that last July Trump launched an indirect to Bukele and told him that his country was “sending his murderers to the United States” and that he was not doing such a wonderful work “as he says, last week they approached positions .

Trump telephoned his counterpart last week to talk about the fight against illegal immigration and criminal gangs such as the Aragua train -extended by several Latin American nations -, according to the White House.

“President Trump also praised the leadership of President Bukele in the region and the example that gives other nations of the Western hemisphere,” said the US executive headquarters in a statement.

It was now learned that the Trump Administration is developing an agreement that will allow the US to deport El Salvador to migrants other than national country, as told by CBS News two sources familiar with internal deliberations.

The agreement, known as “third safe country”, would allow these people to deport from the US to El Salvador, where they could request asylum.

Already in Trump’s first government a similar agreement was negotiated, although it was never implemented. Joe Biden terminated him.

The Guatemala government announced that it prepared a plan to receive deportees, with the authorization of shelters and labor reintegration programs, among other actions.

Danilo Rivera, director of the Guatemalan Institute of Migration (IGM), said Monday at a press conference that between January 1 and 24 there were almost 3,300 Guatemalans who returned by air from the United States and Mexico.

With the new administration of Donald Trump, flights began on January 24, when a total of 265 people were deported on three flights, two operated in military airplanes and one charter.

154 men, 105 women, a teenager and five minors were traveling on those three flights, according to the balance of the Guatemalan Migration Institute.

Rivera clarified that this dynamic will continue, so it is expected that there will be a negotiation to coordinate the return of these people.

The official reported that the construction of a space is under discussion to serve the nationals and provide them with psychosocial attention and know what needs they have.

He explained that this space will be of registration and attention, because they need to know the returned people and have support for social programs and training.

In the dispute between Colombia and the United States it was said in principle that the aircraft with deportees that were planned to send to the Latin American country would finally fly to Honduras.

However, the Honduras government denied this information, according to the local media El Heraldo.

“False. I say it with property and after having verified it,” says the medium that replied via WhatsApp the Vice Chancellor for Consular Affairs, Antonio García, when consulted on this subject.

For his part, the director of the National Institute of Migration (INM), Wilson Paz, said by the same way to the question: “I think it is wrong information, perhaps they confused that there would be a call between both nations for the issue of CELAC” .

Paz added that “we only received flights with Hondurans.”

The Civil Aeronautics Honduran agency issued a statement where there was no flight of “US military aircraft with deportees of Colombian nationality” and that the agency “will keep informed of any event related to the deportation of immigrants of any nationality, fulfilling with national and international regulations. “

Since 2018, Brazil has agreements with the United States to make repatriation flights and “to shorten the time of permanence of these nationals in the North American detention centers, due to irregular immigration and without the possibility of appeal.”

However, last Friday a flight with 88 Brazilians on board and Brazil denounced the conditions in which they arrived.

“It is unacceptable that the agreed conditions with the US government are not respected,” Brazil’s government said in a statement.

Specifically, the complaint is that, according to the Brazilian government, some of the returnees were on the flight handcuffs.

Upon arriving in the country they were immediately released by the Federal Police.

“The indiscriminate use of wives and chains violates the terms of the agreement with the United States, which provides for the dignified, respectful and human treatment of returnees.”

The flight had as a final destination Belo Horizonte, but the Brazilian authorities did not let their journey continue “due to the use of wives and chains, the poor state of the aircraft, with the defective air conditioning system, among other problems, and the revolt for the 88 national on board due to the unworthy treatment they received. “

Thus, the Brazilian Air Force later sent them on another flight to the capital of Minas Gerais after having attended them and giving them drinks, food, mattresses and bathrooms with showers.

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