Colombia has offered to pay for the “dignified” deportation of its citizens from the United States, the foreign ministry said Friday, a week after a public spat between presidents Gustavo Petro and Donald Trump over the removal of migrants.

The two leaders had issued threats and counter threats of major trade tariffs of up to 50 percent, and Washington’s embassy in Bogota stopped issuing visas from Monday to Friday in retaliation for Petro’s refusal to allow US military planes to return Colombian migrants to their country.

Petro had accused the United States of treating the migrants like criminals, placing them in shackles and handcuffs.

Colombia’s foreign ministry said Friday it had proposed to Mauricio Claver-Carone, Trump’s special envoy for Latin America, that Bogota would “immediately assume the transfer of all citizens deported by the United States,” covering transportation costs for its nationals, according to a statement.

Petro has said his government would not allow expelled migrants to travel in handcuffs.

The Trump administration had announced this week a series of sanctions against Colombia, before backtracking, with the White House saying Bogota had accepted its conditions and reversed course.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Colombian military and civilian aircraft repatriated the first groups of migrants to Bogota.

According to Petro, hundreds of Colombians, including several children, were returned to their country in “dignified” conditions. None of them were “confirmed criminals,” he added.

Colombia is expecting the return of around 27,000 migrants whose deportation orders have been signed in the last six months by the Trump administration or that of his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, a Colombian presidential source told AFP.

Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation campaign in US history, vowing to expel millions of undocumented immigrants, many from Latin American nations.

The United States is Colombia’s largest trade partner and it has provided millions of dollars in aid over decades to fight drug trafficking and terrorism.

AFP

The Federal Government has, said a total of 201 Nigerians are currently in the custody of the US authorities and are ready for deportation.

But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the date and time of their deportation had not been communicated to the Federal Government.

The acting spokesperson for the ministry, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated that for Nigerians to be deported, the established diplomatic practice was to officially communicate such intentions to the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC.

“The total number of 201 Nigerians are currently in their custody for deportation but the date and time for deportation have not been communicated. And there is no way they will be deported to Nigeria without communication with the embassy in Washington DC.

“Moreso, if Nigerians are to be deported, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission will all work together on how best to receive and reintegrate them into Nigerian society,” Ebienfa stated.

“For instance, special flights will require necessary permits from Nigeria and we have to equally verify that the deportees are all Nigerians.

“However, since no formal communication has been received regarding the deportation schedule, the Federal Government is monitoring the situation with keen interest, and the right thing will be done to give our citizens a sense of belonging.”

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

A Nigerian man marked his birthday in an unusual way, using eba as a substitute for cake amid the country’s economic hardship

A video making waves on X, formerly Twitter, captured the moment he sat on the floor with a candle placed nearby.

Man uses eba as birthday cake amid economic hardship
Man uses eba as birthday cake amid economic hardship.
In front of him was a plate of eba and soup, his chosen meal for the celebration in the absence of a traditional cake.

As the birthday song played in the background, he embraced the moment.

When it was time to cut the cake—of which there was none—he simply picked up a knife, sliced into the eba, and blew out the candle, making the best of his special day.