Back in Colombia, 200 migrants deported by the United States talk about the ‘nightmare’

In his X account, Petro stated: “The migrants who arrived today Bogota are Colombians, free and worthy, in his country who loves them. A migrant is not a criminal, but a human being who wants to work, evolve and live life.” Among the repatriates were 21 children and two pregnant women, Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said. He stressed that these people were deported due to the “irregular migratory situation” and that none of them are sought by the court, neither in Colombia nor in the United States.

Carlos Gomez, one of the deported, described to the press the difficult conditions of detention. “It’s not the American dream, but the American nightmare,” he said in an interview at El Dorado de Bogota airport. After spending only one week in the United States with his 17 -year -old son, he said the food was “horrible”, “thrown on the floor”, and that they spent long days confined to “cells” where they could not distinguish day of the night .

Carlos and his son were aboard one of the American flights that were rejected by Gustavo Petro, starting from San Diego. “We were handcuffed, we were tight,” and his son cried saying “Dad, I’m in pain,” he recalled. On board, “we were handcuffed and wearing current waist, as if we were … High dangerous criminals,” said Daniel, another migrant, who paid more than $ 5,000 to traffickers to reach the United States.

After hours of tensions and the threat of reciprocal commercial sanctions, “the impasse” was overcome, and Washington removed the threat of tariffs on Colombian products. Colombian military aircraft took off from Bogota on Monday to repair migrants from the states of Texas and California, which the United States wanted to expel.

The Colombian government announced funds on Tuesday to support the “productive reintegration” of repatrias, without clarifying whether there will be more flights to the United States. Donald Trump, since his return to power on January 20, has promised to launch “the largest deportation program in American history.” The White House boasted from the arrest of hundreds of “illegal criminal migrants”, noting that they were expelled by military planes, rather than civilians, as previously done.