The South American country initially refused to accept US military flights deporting Colombian nationals, a decision that drew Donald Trump’s anger last weekend

Shortly after last November’s election, Trump threatened China, Mexico, and Canada with 10% and 25% tariffs, respectively.

For a fleeting moment, it looked like going after Trump was a political risk Colombian President Gustavo Petro was willing to take. But all his rhetoric was for naught.

The move followed a dispute between President Trump and President Gustavo Petro over deportation flights that nearly turned into a costly trade war between both countries.

President Donald Trump announced retaliatory measures against Colombia after the country refused to accept deportation flights of Colombian migrants.

The Government of Colombia, under the direction of President Gustavo Petro, has arranged the presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots.”

Colombian migrants returning home described being shackled "like criminals," during earlier U.S. flights that were blocked by Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro, amid a standoff with President Donald Trump that almost led to a trade war. Newsweek has reached out to the Colombian Foreign Ministry for comment via email.

Trump threatened trade war with Colombia after President Gustavo Petro refuses deportation of Colombians without 'dignified treatment'

The Liberal Party of Colombia is distancing itself from President Gustavo Petro's government after he was forced to back down in his feud with Donald Trump.

So Trump will likely get his way in more cases than not. But he shouldn’t celebrate just yet, because the short-term payoff of strong-arming Latin America will come at the long-term cost of accelerating the region’s shift toward China and increasing its instability. The latter tends, sooner or later, to boomerang back into the United States.

Trump’s uncharitable rhetoric and less-than-civilised treatment of illegal immigrants are, at the very least, likely to fuel more anti-American sentiment in the region. This resentment towards the US may well manifest in building bridges with governments and ideologies that are inimical to US interests.