Deportations create tensions between the US and Latin America, with China possibly benefiting from the situation

Nelson Ardila recently arrived at the airport in Bogota, Colombia, with his belongings stuffed into a plastic bag.

He was flown in from Texas on a deportation flight run by a US contractor.

Ardila, 37, said that he had entered the US illegally on Jan. 20. He turned himself in to US authorities and tried to ask for asylum.

Instead, he was deported after being held for eight days at a detention center, where he had to stay in a cramped cell with permanent lighting that made it hard to sleep. On the way back to Bogota, Ardila was put in handcuffs during the entire fight, like all the other men on the deportation flight.

“We were treated like criminals,” Ardila said. “All I wanted to do was to help my family.”

President Donald Trump has promised to increase deportation flights to Colombia and other Latin American countries as he tries to crack down on illegal immigration. But these flights are now creating tensions with some Latin American nations, whose presidents have complained about how their citizens have been treated. Meanwhile, as the tensions increase, China could be stepping in to try and fill the void.

In Colombia, President Gustavo Petro recently said that he would not accept deportation flights from the Trump administration until new protocols were established for how migrants should be transported.

But he had to back down just hours after the US threatened to place 25% tariffs on Colombian goods sold in the US.

Trump described it as a win for US diplomacy and said in a press conference that “tariffs are very powerful, both economically and in getting everything else you want.”

But, some scholars argue that using tariffs for political ends could backfire.   

“Right now, the US looks like an unreliable partner that is not interested in trade as a way of benefiting both countries’ economies but rather as a type of weapon,” said Will Freeman, a Latin America expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. 

He added that China might actually benefit if Latin American countries begin to view the US as a country that will change its trade policies at will.

“How much of your economy do you want tethered to a country that is threatening 25% or 50% tariffs one day, and then the next day everything is fine?” Freeman asked.

China has invested heavily in infrastructure projects in Latin America, such as a massive port recently opened in Peru.

Now, it is also exploiting natural resources in South America, like lithium mines. 

Some analysts say that the US could lose out in the global competition for resources and markets if it does not win more hearts and minds across Latin America.

“First of all, we have to recognize the importance of the region to ourselves,” said Eric Farnsworth, the vice president of the Council of the Americas, a group that promotes trade and investment in the Western Hemisphere.

“It’s not wrong for the Trump administration to want border security, to want to reduce fentanyl [from entering] into the US and to regularize migration. The question is, can you do that in isolation or do you want hemispheric partners to help you achieve those goals?’”

As the threat of tariffs looms, the deportation flights continue. 

But the number of flights hasn’t increased, said Tom Cartwright, who heads Witness at the Border, an organization that tracks deportation flights.

In January, there was an average of five flights per weekday, according to a report published by the group. And that means the month of January “is tied for the second-lowest level in at least the last two years,” Cartwright said.

However, the conditions on some of the flights have become tougher, with the Trump administration now flying some migrants in military cargo planes instead of using civilian aircraft.

“The reason I think they’re doing that is to dehumanize the situation,” Cartwright said. “Basically to underpin the very specious assertion that we’re under an invasion.”

Using military planes could make Trump look like he’s being tough on illegal immigration.

But analysts say it could also lead to resentment in Latin American countries that are considering whether it is better to do business with China or with the United States.

“China is looking more and more like the adult in the room,” Freeman said. “The reliable partner that you can at least count on to manage trade in a semi-normal way.”