Latin American countries to hold emergency summit due to Trump's deportation policy
Photo: US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Leaders of Latin American countries will gather on January 30 for an emergency summit. This is triggered by the mass deportation policy of U. President Donald Trump, according to the Financial Times.
According to the media outlet, the summit was convened by the President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, who heads the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, at the request of Colombia's leader Gustavo Petro.
She wrote on Twitter (X) that the meeting will address migration, regional unity, and ecology.
A senior regional diplomat in Washington mentioned that Latin American embassies in Washington were very concerned, noting that it seemed as though they had returned to 1897, the era of President McKinley, who had invaded Cuba and the Philippines.
Michael Shifter, a senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue think tank, believes that Latin American countries will try to find a balance in their relations with Trump.
At the same time, anonymous regional diplomats told FT that they would prefer to coordinate positions discreetly before announcing an official stance.
A source told the news agency that Petro had given a lesson on how not to deal with Trump, as he had gone into battle on social media without the means to support his fight.
The countries in the region have already had to deal with the large-scale deportation campaign launched by the new US administration targeting illegal immigrants.
In addition, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico and to restore US control over the Panama Canal. Recently, he announced a 25% tariff on goods from Colombia for several hours, until the country's president agreed to accept migrants.
It is noted that Cuba and Venezuela supported Colombia, but the largest countries in the region, Brazil and Mexico, have not publicly commented on the situation.
Deportation of migrants from the US
The issue of mass deportations of illegal immigrants from the United States became one of the main promises during Donald Trump's election campaign. On January 24, the White House announced the first steps in this matter.
At the same time, not all countries immediately agreed to accept their migrants back. During the incident with Colombia, the US threatened the country with 25% tariffs on all goods and sanctions, after which Colombia agreed to Trump's conditions.
The US is also ready to impose sanctions on countries that refuse to take back their citizens who are illegally residing in the US.
