Tegucigalpa (AFP) – A summit of Latin American countries to discuss a united front in the face of US President Donald Trump’s plans for mass migrant deportations has been called off, the organizers said Wednesday. Honduras had called an urgent meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) for Thursday to discuss migration after a blazing row between Colombia and the United States over Bogota’s refusal to accept two US military deportation flights.
But the Honduras government on Wednesday cancelled the meeting after no leaders apart from Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced they would attend. The foreign ministry said it had been called off after Colombia said it had resolved its row with Washington. Petro is the only Latin American leader to have publicly blocked US deportation flights since Trump returned to office a week ago.
Colombia’s first left-wing president refused two US military planes after taking umbrage at the treatment meted out to expelled Brazilian migrants flown home from the United States last week in shackles. A furious Trump retaliated by threatening punishing tariffs and sanctions and suspending visa applications at the US embassy in Bogota. The Colombian government later sent two of its own air force planes to bring home 201 of its nationals.
No other leaders in the region have confronted Trump so forcefully on the issue. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has sought to avoid confrontation with the Republican leader, who has also threatened her country with stiff tariffs. Brazil on Monday summoned the top US envoy to Brasilia to explain the treatment of its deported citizens but has not refused deportation flights.
© 2024 AFP
