WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump forged ahead with military deportation flights on Monday, sending another planeload of migrants to Guatemala a day after coming to the brink of a trade war with Colombia when it refused to let C-17 aircraft land.
Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the aircraft landed in Guatemala on Monday afternoon after a flight from Texas. A Guatemalan official told Reuters the military transport plane had 64 people on board.
Reuters was first to report Monday’s flight to Guatemala.
As US-Colombia tensions simmer, Bogota announced on Monday it was sending Colombian air force planes to the United States to pick up migrants that Trump tried to deport. The move, which Colombia said was a “win-win,” cast doubt on White House assertions on Sunday that Bogota had relented to Trump’s demands, agreeing to accept US military deportation flights.
Trump, speaking at his Doral golf club to Republican lawmakers, vowed his unprecedented use of military aircraft for deportations would continue, and portrayed Sunday’s standoff with Colombia as a victory in his immigration crackdown.
“For the first time in history, we are locating and loading illegal aliens into military aircraft and flying them back to the places from which they came,” Trump said to applause.
“We’re respected again, after years of laughing at us, like we’re stupid people.”
Monday’s flight is the third to have successfully landed in Guatemala since the start of the military deportation flights last week.
To date, Guatemala appears to be the only country to have received military flights with migrants.
On Sunday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the military deportation flights as inhumane and revoked authorization for two C-17 aircraft to land in his country after they had taken off from California.
Trump responded immediately, threatening severe tariffs and sanctions on Colombia as punishment.
