Within two hours, Colombia reversed course and agreed to accept its citizens.
In the opening weeks of his second presidency, Donald Trump has moved with unusual speed to reshape the terms of American immigration enforcement, securing deportation agreements with seven nations through a combination of economic threats, diplomatic pressure, and military logistics. The use of C-17 cargo aircraft, tariff ultimatums, and a deal to house American criminals in El Salvador's notorious prisons signals not merely a policy shift but a deliberate reordering of what nations will accept in exchange for American favour. What is unfolding is less a negotiation than a demonstration — of leverage, of pace, and of consequence — aimed as much at those who might come as at those already here.
- Within two weeks of taking office, Trump had turned deportation into a military-grade logistical operation, with C-17 aircraft flying detained migrants across the hemisphere in as little as seven hours.
- Colombia's initial refusal to accept deportation flights triggered an immediate threat of 25% tariffs and visa revocations — and within two hours, Bogotá reversed course and sent its own military planes to collect its citizens.
- El Salvador's offer to incarcerate not only foreign gang members but violent American criminals in its brutal mega-prison has raised urgent human rights alarms, even as the Trump administration hailed it as unprecedented diplomatic leverage.
- Venezuela remains a live complication — Trump announced an agreement on Truth Social, but Caracas has not confirmed it, leaving the fate of roughly 350,000 Venezuelans whose protections are being revoked deeply uncertain.
- The machinery is running at scale: families, women, children, and individuals with no confirmed criminal history are among those being loaded onto military aircraft, with each flight to Guatemala alone estimated to cost over $4,600 per person removed.
Two weeks into his second term, Donald Trump had already secured deportation agreements with seven countries — Colombia, El Salvador, India, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Venezuela — at a pace that surprised even seasoned observers. The method was consistent: threaten tariffs, invoke national security, and deploy military aircraft. Border Patrol officials made the message plain: someone who spent months crossing into the country illegally could be back home within seven hours of detention under Title 8 authority.
Colombia provided the clearest early test. When Bogotá initially refused to allow U.S. military deportation flights to land, Trump threatened a 25% tariff and visa revocations for Colombian officials. Within two hours, Colombia reversed its position, eventually dispatching its own military planes — complete with medical staff — to collect deportees from San Diego and Houston. Trump marked the moment by posting an AI-generated image of himself beside a sign reading 'FAFO.'
El Salvador's agreement was of a different character entirely. President Nayib Bukele offered to accept not only Salvadoran nationals but violent foreign gang members and, remarkably, dangerous American criminals currently held in U.S. prisons — people not ordinarily deportable under law. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meeting Bukele at his lakeside country house outside San Salvador, called it something no country had ever offered before. That El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center mega-prison is documented for brutal conditions appeared secondary to the diplomatic value of the arrangement.
India became the most distant destination, with a C-17 departing for New Delhi on the same day Trump invited Prime Minister Modi to the White House. The timing underscored how immigration cooperation had become woven into broader strategic and trade relationships. Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru received further flights, including one carrying over 80 migrants — among them families with women and children — flown from El Paso to Quito.
Venezuela remained unresolved. Trump announced on Truth Social that Caracas had agreed to accept its citizens back, but Venezuela's government offered no confirmation. Meanwhile, protections for roughly 350,000 Venezuelans in the United States were being wound down, leaving their futures uncertain. Mexico, for its part, avoided military flights entirely by agreeing to deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to its northern border in exchange for a 30-day pause on tariff threats.
The photographs told their own story: families stepping off military aircraft, migrants in detention facilities, the full weight of state machinery in motion. The message, reinforced by both official briefings and presidential memes, was directed as much at those who might consider coming as at those already being removed.
Two weeks into his presidency, Donald Trump had already secured deportation agreements with seven nations—a pace that caught many observers off guard. The mechanism was straightforward: threaten tariffs, invoke national security, deploy military aircraft, and watch resistance crumble. By early February, the Pentagon was flying C-17 Globemaster cargo planes loaded with detained migrants across the hemisphere and beyond, turning what had been a slower process under the previous administration into something resembling a logistical operation.
The speed was the point. A Border Patrol supervisor named Hamid Nikseresht explained it to Fox News with the clarity of someone delivering a message: migrants who took 30, 60, or 90 days to enter the country illegally could be back home within seven hours of being deemed removable under Title 8. The Pentagon had begun coordinating flights from detention facilities in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California, where over 5,000 migrants were being held. The Boeing C-17, designed for tactical and strategic military transport, had become a deportation vessel.
Colombia was the first real test of Trump's leverage. When the country initially refused to allow two U.S. military aircraft carrying Colombian nationals to land, Trump responded with a threat: a 25 percent tariff on Colombian imports and visa revocations for government officials. Within two hours, Colombia reversed course. The country's government agreed to accept its citizens and even dispatched its own military planes, equipped with medical staff, to collect deportees from San Diego and Houston. The first flight carried 110 Colombians deemed illegal by immigration authorities; a second held 95. Trump then posted an AI-generated image of himself beside a sign reading "FAFO"—a phrase commonly understood as "fuck around, find out."
El Salvador presented a different kind of agreement. President Nayib Bukele offered something the Trump administration called "unprecedented" and "extraordinary": El Salvador would accept not only its own nationals but violent foreign gang members and, most strikingly, dangerous American criminals currently imprisoned in U.S. jails. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Bukele's lakeside country house outside San Salvador, confirmed the deal. Bukele would charge a "relatively low" fee and would incarcerate members of MS-13, the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, and other criminal migrants from any nation. The offer to lock up violent American citizens—people who were not deportable under normal law—was, Rubio said, something no country had ever extended before. El Salvador's prisons, particularly the Terrorism Confinement Center mega-prison, were known for brutal conditions, but that appeared to be beside the point.
India became the farthest destination for Trump's deportation flights. A C-17 departed for India on Monday carrying migrants, according to an anonymous U.S. official. The timing was notable: hours after the plane left, Trump invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the White House the following week. Trump and Modi had spoken at the end of January about immigration, American security equipment sales, and bilateral trade. India, positioned as a strategic partner in countering China, had strong incentive to cooperate. The two countries' bilateral trade had exceeded $118 billion in 2023-24, making the U.S. India's largest trading partner.
Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru rounded out the initial wave. Over 80 migrants—43 women and 37 men, including families—were loaded onto a C-17 in El Paso and flown to Ecuador. Four planeloads landed in Guatemala after Colombia's initial refusal forced a redirect; one Guatemalan official confirmed a January 27 flight carried 64 people. Honduras received over 70 deportees on a U.S. Air Force plane to San Pedro Sula, despite President Xiomara Castro having threatened on New Year's Day to expel U.S. military forces depending on how the administration handled migration. Peru was mentioned as a destination for ongoing flights.
Venezuela presented a complication. The Trump administration was terminating protections that had shielded roughly 350,000 Venezuelans from deportation, giving them two months before losing work authorization. Yet the U.S. had no diplomatic relations with Venezuela, limiting deportation options. Trump's envoy Richard Grenell traveled to Caracas and met with President Nicolás Maduro, resulting in the release of six American prisoners. Trump then announced on Truth Social that Venezuela had agreed to accept its citizens back. Venezuela's government had not confirmed any such agreement.
The human cost was visible in the photographs: families descending from military aircraft, migrants in detention, the machinery of removal operating at scale. One military flight to Guatemala was estimated to have cost at least $4,675 per migrant. Mexico, which refused to allow U.S. military aircraft to land, instead agreed to reinforce its northern border with 10,000 National Guard members after Trump shelved tariff threats for 30 days. The deals were being struck, the planes were flying, and the message—delivered by Nikseresht and reinforced by Trump's meme—was being sent: do not come.
Citações Notáveis
If it takes you 30, 60, or 90 days to enter the United States illegally, once you're found amenable to removal, we can have you back in your home country within seven hours.— Hamid Nikseresht, U.S. Border Patrol special operations supervisor
El Salvador agreed to the most unprecedented, extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world.— Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on El Salvador's offer to incarcerate violent American criminals
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
How did Trump move this fast? Deportations happened under Biden too, but nothing at this pace.
Tariffs. The moment he threatened them, countries that had been resistant suddenly found ways to cooperate. Colombia took two hours to reverse itself. That's not negotiation—that's coercion with a deadline.
But some countries like El Salvador seem genuinely willing. Bukele even offered to take American prisoners.
That's the interesting part. Bukele gets something out of it—money, U.S. favor, leverage over his own population. And he's already running brutal prisons. For him, this is just scale.
What about the people being deported? Are we talking about criminals or just people who crossed illegally?
Both. The source mentions families—women and children—on the Ecuador flight. But it also mentions gang members and people caught smuggling. The speed means less individual review. Seven hours from detention to deportation.
India seems like an odd partner for this. Why would they cooperate?
Trade. The U.S. is their largest trading partner. Trump invites Modi to the White House right after the first flight lands. It's not subtle.
And Venezuela? That seems impossible without diplomatic relations.
It is impossible, which is why Grenell went there in person. He got six American prisoners released, and Trump announced Venezuela agreed to take deportees back. But Venezuela hasn't confirmed it. That's the gap between what Trump says happened and what actually happened.
So this is sustainable? Can he keep this up?
For now, yes, because the threat works. But it depends on countries staying afraid of tariffs and on the military having the capacity to fly this many people. The longer it goes, the more the human cost becomes visible.