Quotes
Don' ... t go [to the US] because they're deporting everyone..,
a mother carrying her baby said outside the plane provided by the Colombian government to bring the migrants back to their homeland
Migrants who are here illegally are criminals, as far as this administration is concerned. I understand the previous administration didn't see it that way, so it's a significant 'culture shift' to recognize law-breakers as criminals, but that's what they are."
White House press secretary Katherine Leavitt, at a press conference on Tuesday
As part of the agreement with our partners in the United States, the first Colombian Air Force flight will take off in just a few minutes to ensure the dignified return of 110 Colombian nationals. We have worked to protect their rights, with the support of our consulates, prioritizing the well-being of our people and strengthening the bilateral relationship."
Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo, on X, formerly TwitterDon't go, don't go,
she warned, highlighting the emotional hardships many deportees endure upon their returnHe hasn't eaten; he's malnourished,
she saidThey're not going to release you the next day; they will keep you there,
she saidWe were shackled from our feet, our ankles to our hips, like criminals,
Montaña said
We were being scolded because we had them in shackles in an airplane and he said ‘this is no way to treat people,’
he said at a policy conference for House Republicans held at his Doral golf club in FloridaWe only want a better future for our children,
Gómez saidIt was on its way to Colombia, but I am not sure what happened. We were turned back,
he said,The well-being of our fellow citizens and the guarantee of their rights is a priority of the Colombian government,
Colombia’s Foreign Ministry said in a social media post on Tuesday
They are Colombians. They are free and dignified, and they are in their homeland where they are loved,
Petro wroteBut do not demand that I accept deportees from the US, handcuffed and on military aircraft,
Petro wrote in a social media postTrump was saying he was repatriating criminals, illegals, people who shouldn't be in this country. I don't understand why Petro wants to pick unnecessary fights; he was putting millions of dollars in Colombian exports at risk. He's a president who isn't respecting the will of his people."
Maria Salazar, speaking on Colombian radioThey have no criminal records in either Colombia or the United States. Their only status is being irregular migrants,
a spokesperson for the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs saidI was trying to be in that country legally. I had a job here in Colombia; I am a mechatronics engineer,
said Fredy Alexander, who had his asylum request denied after spending 12 days in the U.S.They treated us like criminals; it was inhumane. We were handcuffed. I crossed the border last week; here, I have nothing,
said another unnamed deporteeThree hundred people sitting on a plane. Every single one of them is either a murderer, a drug lord, a kingpin, the head of the mob, or a gang member,
Trump said
We went for the American dream, and we ended up living the American nightmare
said Carlos Gómez, a migrant from the city of Barranquilla who left Colombia two weeks ago, flew to Mexico, and crossed the border illegally into California, with the help of smugglers
It’s horrible what they are doing with migrants,
he said