President Donald Trump has announced a series of retaliatory measures against Colombia after the country rejected two U.S. military flights intended for deporting migrants. The Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, had earlier declared that his country would not allow these flights to land, citing inappropriate treatment of Colombian migrants.
In response, Trump has directed his administration to implement immediate and decisive actions. These measures include:
- Emergency Tariffs: An initial 25% tariff on all goods imported from Colombia, with an escalation to 50% within a week if the situation does not change.
- Visa Restrictions: A travel ban and immediate revocation of visas for Colombian government officials, their allies, and supporters. Additionally, visa sanctions will be imposed on party members, family members, and other associates of the Colombian government.
- Enhanced Border Inspections: Stricter inspections for Colombian nationals at U.S. borders.
- Banking and Financial Sanctions: Implementation of various financial restrictions.
Petro’s decision was based on his assertion that migrants should not be treated as criminals by the U.S., and he emphasized the need for a protocol ensuring their dignified treatment. This stance has led to a significant diplomatic tension between the two nations, especially given the U.S. is Colombia’s primary trading partner and security ally.
🚨#BREAKING: President Trump has just announced a massive emergency tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after they denied deportation flights of their own citizens
President Donald Trump has just announced that he will be imposed massive emergency… pic.twitter.com/NjETdB5kee
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 26, 2025
The move by Colombia to block the flights is the first—and possibly last—attempt by a Latin American nation to resist the Trump administration’s deportation efforts. Some have complained, but nobody else has turned away flights. Earlier reports that Mexico had turned away flights were debunked by the Trump administration.
This is also the first—and possibly last—instance where such retaliatory economic and diplomatic actions have been taken by the U.S. against a country for rejecting deportation flights.
Under the Biden-Harris regime, nations like Colombia were supportive of exporting their criminals to the streets of the United States. Taking them back will be a tougher pill to swallow but it’s a pill they need to get used to immediately. As these moves by the Trump administration show, the alternative may be far worse for them.
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
The same can be said about our preparedness sponsor, Prepper All-Naturals. Their long-term storage beef has a 25-year shelf life and is made with one ingredient: All-American Beef.
Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
