Colombian Migrants Describe Deportation Flights: 'We're Not Criminals'

Newsweek ^ | 1/29/25 | Amir Daftari

[Libloather]

Deportation flights between the U.S. and Colombia resumed Tuesday after a diplomatic dispute.

**SNIP**

Migrants Arrive in Colombia

Two Colombian Air Force planes landed in Bogota Tuesday with over 200 migrants. Petro greeted them with a message on X, calling them "free" and in "a country that loves them." Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo confirmed that none of the deported individuals had criminal records in the U.S. or Colombia.

Conditions on US Deportation Flights

Migrants returning on the U.S. flights described inhumane conditions, including being shackled during transport. José Montaña, a migrant from Medellín, recalled the shackling: "We were shackled from our feet, our ankles to our hips, like criminals." He also noted that some women were shackled in front of their children. Carlos Gómez, a migrant from Barranquilla, shared a similar story, describing his journey from Colombia to the U.S. as a failed pursuit of the "American dream."

Trump Defends Shackling

Trump defended the use of restraints, saying it was necessary for security. Colombian officials rejected his assertions, stating that the deportees did not have criminal backgrounds. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized that violent offenders should be prioritized for deportation, but clarified that migrants who entered the U.S. illegally would also be targeted for removal.

[BobL]

“Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo confirmed that none of the deported individuals had criminal records in the U.S. or Colombia.”

I don’t believe him for a second. The problem Colombia has is internal at this point as the scene of shackled people coming off the plane makes the government look like they caved. So they make up this fiction...

[ridesthemiles]

EXACTLY