The White House announced late Sunday the United States was backing off a series of retaliatory measures levied against Colombia, saying the two countries had reached an agreement on U.S. flights sending Colombian migrants back home.

A White House statement said the two countries agreed Colombia would accept its migrants without restriction, including having them sent back on U.S. military aircraft.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro had earlier rejected two U.S. military planes and said he would only accept migrants when the U.S. treated them with dignity, including using civilian planes for deportations.

The White House also said it would hold new tariffs and sanctions against Colombia ?in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement.?

State Department visa sanctions against several Colombian officials, as well as enhanced customs inspections would remain in place until the first planeload of Colombian migrants lands in Colombia, the White House said.

Colombia?s Foreign Ministry said late Sunday it had overcome the impasse with the United States, and that Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo and Colombian Ambassador to the U.S. Dnaiel Garc?a-Pe?a were traveling to Washington for high-level meetings to follow up on the agreement.

Colombia said it would welcome its people home and would guarantee them decent conditions as citizens with rights.

The statements reversed a fast-evolving series of escalatory statements from the leaders of the two countries, which featured U.S. President Donald Trump announcing an immediate 25% tariff on Colombian goods, which would rise to 50% in a week, and the suspension of visa processing at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

This image released by the Department of Defense shows undocumented migrants awaiting takeoff for a removal flight at the Tucson International Airport, Arizona, Jan. 23, 2025. (AFP photo/DVIDS/Department of Defense/Senior Airman Devlin Bishop)

This image released by the Department of Defense shows undocumented migrants awaiting takeoff for a removal flight at the Tucson International Airport, Arizona, Jan. 23, 2025. (AFP photo/DVIDS/Department of Defense/Senior Airman Devlin Bishop)

Petro announced a 25% tariff on U.S. goods in return, saying the United States ?will never rule us."

?A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves,? Petro said. ?That is why I returned the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants. ... In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens."

Colombia is America's third-largest trading partner in Latin America.

The row came about after U.S. authorities began arresting hundreds of undocumented migrants per day and sending them back to their home countries, carrying out Trump?s 2024 campaign pledge to deport masses of migrants who have illegally entered the United States.

?We?re going to enforce immigration laws,? Vice President JD Vance told CBS News? ?Face the Nation? on Sunday.

More than 1,000 migrants were arrested with hundreds repatriated to other countries, including Guatemala last week, during the first days of the new Trump administration, according to figures compiled by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and the White House. (VOA)

?PHOTO: The above image released by the U.S. Department of Defense shows shackled undocumented migrants preparing to board a C-17 Globemaster III at Fort Bliss, Texas, Jan. 23, 2025. (AFP/DVIDS/Department of Defense/U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas J. De La Pena)

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