Donald Trump had ordered 25% tariffs on all Colombian goods after its president barred two US military deportation flights from landing in the country on Sunday.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro had initially responded by saying his country would accept deportees on “civilian planes, without treating them like criminals”.

A White House statement says Columbia has now agreed to accept migrants arriving on US military aircraft “without limitation or delay”. Colombia said a dialogue would be maintained to “guarantee the dignity of our citizens”.

The White House has hailed the agreement with Colombia as a victory for Trump’s hard-line approach after the country’s two leaders traded threats on social media on Sunday.

Colombia’s foreign ministry said it had “overcome the impasse” with the US just hours after Petro published a lengthy post on X condemning what he called Trump’s “blockade”.

Petro had earlier denied entry to US military deportation flights, saying that migrants should be returned “with dignity and respect”.

In response, Trump announced “urgent and decisive retaliatory measures” in a post on his social media site Truth Social, including tariffs and visa sanctions.

Petro responded on X with a post announcing his own tariffs and celebrating Colombia’s heritage.

“Your blockade does not scare me, because Colombia, besides being the country of beauty, is the heart of the world,” he said.

Within hours, the two sides appeared to have resolved the row, and the White House said Columbia had agreed to “all of President Trump’s demands”.

Trump’s proposed tariffs had been “fully drafted” and would still be implemented if Colombia does not honour this agreement, according to the White House.

Trump had also announced visa sanctions and enhanced inspections on Colombians at the border. These will remain in place “until the first planeload of Columbian deportees is successfully returned”, the White House said.

Colombia’s foreign minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said the country would “continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions, as citizens subject to rights”.

Petro’s presidential plane has been prepared to facilitate the return of the Colombians who would have arrived in the country earlier on the blocked military flights, he added.

Murillo will travel to Washington for high-level meetings in the coming hours, according to a foreign ministry statement.

The feud between the two nations came after Trump’s administration vowed to carry out “mass deportations”. The president signed multiple executive orders related to immigration on his first day in office.

Some of Trump’s executive orders were signed with the aim of expanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) ability to arrest and detain unlawful migrants on US soil.

Federal agents conducted “targeted” immigration arrests in Chicago on Sunday, an ICE spokesperson said in a statement.

The agents were accompanied by the newly appointed “border czar” Tom Homan, US officials told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

Homan said Congress should increase funding for the border effort, which included a need for 100,000 beds in migrant detention centres.

On Thursday, the US Congress passed the Laken Riley Act, which will greatly expand immigration authorities’ power to detain migrants.

Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the bill represents a “fundamental erosion of civil rights”.

The selected team features Jenna Kayla Sarpong, a goalkeeper from Auburn University, and defender Alexandra Emefa Tay, who plays for Seattle United ECNL.

Midfielder Stella Nyamekye returns to the squad after recovering from an injury that kept her out of the African Games in March.

The attacking line will be led by Mafia Nyame of AS FAR, alongside Salamatu Abdulai and Mary Amponsah from Ampem Darkoa Ladies.

The tournament will run from August 31 to September 22, 2024. Ghana is placed in Group E with Japan, Austria, and New Zealand.

The Black Princesses are determined to advance beyond the group stage for the first time, despite their consistent presence in the World Cup over the past six editions.

The players are as follows: 

Departing from Accra on Tuesday evening, the team landed in the Colombian capital at approximately 5:45 PM local time on Wednesday.

The arrival was met with a vibrant reception, as Colombian Police welcomed the players with cheers and music in a brief airport ceremony.

Before the tournament officially begins on August 31, 2024, the Black Princesses will participate in several international friendly matches.

Their campaign will commence against Austria on September 2, followed by fixtures against Japan and New Zealand in Group E.

Head coach Yusif Basigi and his squad are aiming to advance beyond the group stage in their seventh consecutive World Cup appearance.

Watch video below

And we brought the PARTYYYYYY💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽🇬🇭#FIFAU20WWC #StrongerTogether💪🏽 #ShineBlackPrincesses✨#BringBackTheLove 🥰 pic.twitter.com/v96itDy4Pi

— Ghana Women National Teams 🇬🇭 (@GhanaWNT) August 15, 2024

The striker was seen physically confronting Colombia fans in the stands after the final whistle in the Copa America semi-final.

According to Uruguayan outlet El País, disorder broke out close to where friends and family members of players were located.

Núñez is yet to comment publicly on the incident.

TV cameras and fans captured images of Núñez climbing up railings and making his way into the crowded stands of the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

He could then be seen confronting Colombia fans as others tried to restrain him.

Getty Images

Getty Images

Other Uruguay players were reportedly involved in the incident.

Uruguay captain José María Giménez said the players were trying to defend their families, describing the situation in the crowd as a “disaster”, Reuters reported.

He continued: “There was no police and we had to defend our families. This is the fault of two or three people who had a few too many drinks and don’t know how to drink.”

Núñez was seen hugging his son on the pitch after the altercation.

South American football’s governing body Conmebol said it “strongly condemns any act of violence that affects football.”

“There is no pace for intolerance and violence on and off the field,” it added.

The incident happened after Uruguay slumped to a 1-0 defeat against Colombia in the last four match, denying them a place in Monday’s Copa America final.

Shortly before the crowd disorder began, players and coaching staff had clashed on the pitch after the match ended.

Núñez started the game up front for Uruguay but could not convert one of his four attempts on goal.

Liverpool signed the forward for an initial £64m from Portuguese side Benfica in June 2022. He has scored 20 goals in 65 appearances for the club.

BBC News has contacted Núñez’s representative for comment.

Colombia will play Argentina in Monday’s final.

Getty Images

The European champions, favourites to go all the way in Australia, have not played their best football in the tournament but this was a much more rounded display in front of a hostile crowd in Sydney.

Largely composed in defence and hard-working in attack, the Lionesses were rewarded with two slices of luck which they capitalised on, after goalkeeper Mary Earps had been beaten by a quick-thinking lob in the first half.

Lauren Hemp poked in the equaliser, just seven minutes after Leicy Santos had caught out Earps, when Colombia goalkeeper Catalina Perez spilled a routine gather in the six-yard area under pressure from Alessia Russo.

Arsenal striker Russo, who had only scored once in four World Cup matches prior to Saturday’s quarter-final, worked tirelessly out of possession, earning her opportunity when she pounced on a kind deflection to drill in England’s second.

Earps was called into action later, tipping Lorena Durango Bedoya’s effort over the bar, while England were put under further pressure by Colombia’s talented attacking line-up, which included Real Madrid’s teenage sensation Linda Caicedo.

The Lionesses, who had to deal with a crowd of 75,784 who were largely backing Colombia, face co-hosts Australia next on 16 August at 11:00 BST, live on BBC.

It will be the Lionesses’ third straight World Cup semi-final after defeats by the USA in 2019 and Japan in 2015.

Colombia will take on England in what will be their first-ever quarter-finals appearance.

It was a cagey first half that saw a lot of fouls from both teams. With neither side being able to keep possession for long, and an abundance of turnovers, the match was very stop-start.

Colombia, who had the better chances, looked most threatening from set-pieces, with Leicy Santos delivering good balls, forcing two saves from Rebecca Spencer, who had kept a clean sheet in all of Jamaica’s group stage matches.

Bunny Shaw saw a header from a corner go wide but struggled during open play, with the Colombia defenders successfully crowding her out.

The match opened up a lot more in the second half, and it rewarded Colombia, whose opener came in the 51st minute.

Ana Guzman, 18, who was making her Colombia senior debut, supplied a fantastic switch of play from left to right, lifting her pass to Usme. The No. 11 managed to take a touch to evade Jamaica’s Deneisha Blackwood and curled the ball across the goal and straight into the corner.

Jamaica had chances to equalise from set pieces, but their deliveries were often over-hit, and they became too frantic as the clock winded down. They leave the World Cup having only scored and conceded once in their four matches.

Linda Caicedo netted a wondergoal to give the South Americans the lead, before Germany equalised with an 89th-minute Alexandra Popp penalty.

Vanegas then headed Leicy Santos’ corner past Merle Frohms to send the vast numbers of Colombia supporters at Sydney Football Stadium wild.

It condemned Germany to a first World Cup group stage defeat since 1995.

A manic ending came after Caicedo, 18, had brilliantly curled into the top corner on 53 minutes to shock the two-time world champions.

The final round of fixtures in this group kick off at 11.00 BST on 3 August, with Colombia taking on Morocco and Germany facing South Korea.

Colombia need a point to top the group, while Germany may need victory to be sure of reaching the knock-outs.

“Obviously, you need to be happy and euphoric because this is a great win for the whole country and we’ve been feeling this,” said Colombia assistant coach Angelo Marsiglia.

“But look, the game and the tournament still continues so we’ll go step by step. We have a very mature team and they know what they want.”

Catalina Usme put the South Americans ahead from the penalty spot, before teenager Linda Caicedo, 18, doubled the lead thanks to an error from Korean keeper Yoon Young-geul.

That was enough to give Colombia their second-ever win at the tournament.

For South Korea, history was made as Casey Phair became the youngest-ever player at a Women’s World Cup.

The forward, aged just 16 years and 26 days, was introduced as a 77th-minute substitute.

The Asian nation, who have now lost all four of their Women’s World Cup opening matches, next face Morocco on 30 July in a must-win Group H match, before Colombia play Germany.

​​​​​​​

Casey Phair broke the record for the youngest Fifa World Cup player – women’s or men’s – by eight days

Colourful Colombia make their mark

This could have been Colombia’s World Cup – they bid to host the 2023 tournament and were only narrowly beaten by Australia and New Zealand.

While they might not be at home, a very loud army of fans made up the majority of the 24,323 crowd at Sydney Football Stadium – and were rewarded.

South Korea did their best to make the Colombians feel comfortable, handing them a two-goal first-half lead through a duo of defensive errors.

On 28 minutes, a frantic passage of play with several deflections and mis-hit shots ended when Shim Seo-yeon blocked a goalbound effort with her arm.

Usme calmly rolled home the result spot-kick, sparking wild celebrations among the yellow-shirted fans.

The worst was yet to come for South Korea, as Caicedo doubled the Colombian lead in a horrible moment for keeper Yoon.

Real Madrid winger Caicedo was allowed too much time and space to run at the defence down the left, she cut inside and her tame curled effort should have been saved but Yoon mistimed her jump and the ball slipped through her gloves and into the net.

Yet Caicedo’s drive, skill and foresight demonstrated why, at only 18, she is one of the most hotly-tipped young stars of the tournament.

Her goal made her the second-youngest player to score at a Women’s World Cup, after Brazil’s Marta, who did so aged 17 in 2003.

Colombia came close to extending their lead after half-time when Mayra Ramirez headed just wide.

The victory boosts their chances of qualifying from Group H, moving them level on points with favourites Germany.

Footage showed the three-storey wooden stand filled with spectators falling at a stadium in El Espinal, Tolima department.

A bull continued to roam the ring as people fled the wreckage.

The traditional “corraleja” event involved members of the public entering the ring to engage the bulls.

The dead included two women, a man and a child, Tolima Governor Jose Ricardo Orozco said. The region’s health official said hospitals had treated 322 people of whom four were in intensive care.

Sunday’s event was part of celebrations of the popular San Pedro festival.

READ ALSO:

• I regret leaving behind my GH¢2,000 job for France, I sometimes cry – France-based Ghanaian

• Couple dies in accident while returning from engagement ceremony

• Lady in very thick heels stumbles and falls flat [Video]

Outgoing President Ivan Duque said there would be an investigation, while President-elect Gustavo Petro urged local officials to ban such events.

“I ask mayors not to allow more events involving the death of people or animals,” he said.

It was not the first time such an accident had happened, he added.

On Saturday several people were injured during corralejas in El Espinal. Earlier this month one person died after being gored by a bull during a corraleja in the town of Repelon.

Mr Orozco said his regional authority would move to ban the corralejas, saying they were dangerous and cruel to animals.

Incoming leader Mr Petro banned bullfights in the main bullring of Colombia’s capital Bogotá during his stint as the city’s mayor.

Mr Petro, a current senator, defeated the right-wing construction magnate Rodolfo Hernández in Sunday’s run-off election.

Figures show he took 50.5% of votes, defeating his millionaire rival by a close margin of around 700,000 ballots.

The result marks a major change for the country, which for decades has been led by moderates and conservatives.

The vote was held amid widespread discontent at the way the country has been run, and there were anti-government protests last year in which dozens of people died.

READ ALSO:

• Latest twist to bullion van robberies case

• Beautiful photos drop as Adwoa Safo’s son graduates from a US school

• Driver’s mate dead, others injured in accident on Kumasi-Accra Highway

The 62-year-old Mr Petro hailed what he called a “victory for God and for the people”.

“May so much suffering be cushioned by the joy that today floods the heart of the homeland,” Mr Petro wrote on Twitter. “Today is the day of the streets and squares.”

His running mate Francia Marquez, a single mother and former housekeeper, will become the country’s first black woman vice-president.

In a video posted to social media, Mr Hernandez, who ran a non-traditional campaign that relied heavily on TikTok and other social media, conceded to Mr Petro.

“I accept the results of this election,” he said. “I hope that Mr Gustavo Petro knows how to run the country and is faithful to his discourse against corruption,” he added.

President Ivan Duque, who was barred from seeking re-election by Colombia’s term limits, said on Twitter that he had called Mr Petro to congratulate him. He added that they had “agreed to meet in the coming days to initiate a harmonious, institutional and transparent transition”.

Mr Petro was a member of the now disbanded M-19 movement in the 1980s. The rebel left-wing group was one of many guerrilla organisations that waged war against the state.

He spent time in jail for illegal arms possession, before joining the political opposition where he served as both a senator and congressman as well as mayor of Bogota.

Mr Petro ran on a radical manifesto and pledged during the campaign to fight inequality by providing free university education, pension reforms and high taxes on unproductive land.

He also pledged to fully implement a 2016 peace deal that ended a 50-year long conflict with the communist guerrilla group, Farc, and to seek negotiations with the still-active ELN rebels.

More than 40 people were injured in the incident on the road near the town of Pueblo Viejo on the Caribbean coast, the police said.

Crowds had gathered around the tanker to try to siphon off fuel when the vehicle burst into flames.

ALSO READ:

• Senior Minister Osafo Maafo tests positive for COVID-19
• Accra Girls teacher, spouse test positive for COVID-19
• Photo of huge bat with ‘human-size’ is giving people nightmares

The injured were taken to several hospitals in the area.

Some of them have severe burns, and there are fears that the death toll will rise further.

Local officials said that some people ignored police warnings of the dangers.

The total death toll has surpassed 200, with hundreds also injured.

Heavy rain flooded the town of Mocoa in the country’s south-west, with mud and rocks burying whole neighbourhoods and forcing residents to flee their homes.

More than 1,000 soldiers and police are involved in the relief effort in Putumayo province.

“Until we have the last person identified we are not going to stop,” said President Santos, who flew to the area on Saturday after the landslide struck.

The relief efforts continued throughout the weekend.

He said the current death toll was 207, out of which 170 had been identified, including 44 children.

The army had previously reported 200 people missing, but the president tweeted on Sunday afternoon that there were officially no disappeared persons.

Earlier in the day, video footage from Mocoa showed residents crying over a list of missing children, with their names and aged pinned to a board.

“We have lost a baby, who has gone missing,” one resident told reporters. “A little baby, we can’t find him anywhere.” Another woman told reporters she was desperately seeking her two daughters and one young granddaughter.

“Whether they are dead or alive, I just want to see them,” she said through tears.

The exact death toll is hard to confirm with the rescue operation still under way.

Some local media estimate up to 300 people have been killed, while the Colombian Red Cross has a total hovering above 200.

The Red Cross said it was working to help family members contact each other, and the Colombian Air Force has brought supplies.

President Santos has vowed investment will be made to make Mocoa better than it was before.

His critics said more should have been done to protect the area from such disasters.

The landslide struck in the early hours of Saturday morning, when many people were asleep in bed.

Colombia’s director of the National Disaster Risk Management Unit told the AFP news agency that a third of the region’s expected monthly rain fell during one night.

Although rainfall is abundant in the area, this downpour was unusually heavy and caused rivers to burst their banks.

The overflow then picked up mud and debris, creating a cascade.

Video footage of the aftermath showed currents so strong that abandoned lorries were propelled through the flooded streets.

A senior UN official in Colombia, Martin Santiago, blamed climate change, saying it had caused “tremendous results in terms of intensity, frequency and magnitude of these natural effects” in the region.

Others said deforestation has also played a role. “When the basins are deforested, they break down. It is as if we remove the protection for avoiding landslides,” said Adriana Soto, a Colombian conservationist and former environment minister.

With no running water in Mocoa, one resident told El Tiempo newspaper that they had been collecting rainwater. Power lines are also out across the area.

Photos posted to social media by the air force showed some patients being evacuated by air.

Local resident Mario Usale, 42, told Reuters he was searching for his father-in-law.

“My mother-in-law was also missing, but we found her alive 2km (1.25 miles) away. She has head injuries, but she was conscious,” he said.

Landslides have struck the region several times in recent months.

In November, nine people died in the town of El Tambo, about 140km (90 miles) from Mocoa, during a landslide that followed heavy rain.

Less than a month before that, another landslide killed several people near Medellin, almost 500km (300 miles) to the north.

And in neighbouring Peru, more than 90 people have died since the start of the year because of unusually heavy rainfall, which also caused landslides and flash floods.

SOURCE: bbc