When it comes to Twitter diatribes, I think Donald Trump may have met his match in Colombian president Gustavo Petro. Here is his, um, response to Trump's attempts to bully him over military deportation flights. I don't know for sure how good the translation is, but there's a kind of irresistible poetry to it regardless. Enjoy.
Trump, I don't really like traveling to the US, it's a bit boring, but I confess that there are some commendable things. I like going to the black neighborhoods of Washington, where I saw an entire fight in the US capital between blacks and Latinos with barricades, which seemed like nonsense to me, because they should join together.
I confess that I like Walt Whitman and Paul Simon and Noam Chomsky and Miller
I confess that Sacco and Vanzetti, who have my blood, are memorable in the history of the USA and I follow them. They were murdered by labor leaders with the electric chair, the fascists who are within the USA as well as within my country
I don't like your oil, Trump, you're going to wipe out the human species because of greed. Maybe one day, over a glass of whiskey, which I accept, despite my gastritis, we can talk frankly about this, but it's difficult because you consider me an inferior race and I'm not, nor is any Colombian.
So if you know someone who is stubborn, that's me, period. You can try to carry out a coup with your economic strength and your arrogance, like they did with Allende. But I will die in my law, I resisted torture and I resist you. I don't want slavers next to Colombia, we already had many and we freed ourselves. What I want next to Colombia are lovers of freedom. If you can't accompany me, I'll go elsewhere. Colombia is the heart of the world and you didn't understand that, this is the land of the yellow butterflies, of the beauty of Remedios, but also of the colonels Aureliano Buendía, of which I am one, perhaps the last.
You will kill me, but I will survive in my people, which is before yours, in the Americas. We are peoples of the winds, the mountains, the Caribbean Sea and of freedom.
You don't like our freedom, okay. I don't shake hands with white slavers. I shake hands with the white libertarian heirs of Lincoln and the black and white farm boys of the USA, at whose graves I cried and prayed on a battlefield, which I reached after walking the mountains of Italian Tuscany and after being saved from Covid.
They are the United States and before them I kneel, before no one else.Overthrow me, President, and the Americas and humanity will respond.
Colombia now stops looking north, looks at the world, our blood comes from the blood of the Caliphate of Cordoba, the civilization of that time, of the Roman Latins of the Mediterranean, the civilization of that time, who founded the republic, democracy in Athens; our blood has the black resistance fighters turned into slaves by you. In Colombia is the first free territory of America, before Washington, of all America, there I take refuge in its African songs.
My land is made up of goldsmiths who worked in the time of the Egyptian pharaohs and of the first artists in the world in Chiribiquete.
You will never rule us. The warrior who rode our lands, shouting freedom, who is called Bolívar, opposes us.
Our people are somewhat fearful, somewhat timid, they are naive and kind, loving, but they will know how to win the Panama Canal, which you took from us with violence. Two hundred heroes from all of Latin America lie in Bocas del Toro, today's Panama, formerly Colombia, which you murdered.
I raise a flag and as Gaitán said, even if it remains alone, it will continue to be raised with the Latin American dignity that is the dignity of America, which your great-grandfather did not know, and mine did, Mr. President, an immigrant in the USA,
Your blockade does not scare me, because Colombia, besides being the country of beauty, is the heart of the world. I know that you love beauty as I do, do not disrespect it and you will give it your sweetness.FROM TODAY ON, COLOMBIA IS OPEN TO THE ENTIRE WORLD, WITH OPEN ARMS, WE ARE BUILDERS OF FREEDOM, LIFE AND HUMANITY.
I am informed that you impose a 50% tariff on the fruits of our human labor to enter the United States, and I do the same.
Let our people plant corn that was discovered in Colombia and feed the world
I love this man and I don't even know him.
Awesome man! Obviously with a spine and testicles.
We need to find a way to transplant even a small portion of his spine into a few congressmen here.
1+
Eloquent, pointed, and definitely poetic.
And effective! Trump has already backed down:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/01/26/trump-colombia-deportation-flights-migrants-tariffs/
Who knew the US President was such a pussy. Sad!
Aha. Colonel Aureliano Buendia is a character from 100 Years of Solitude. This was written by Nobel Prize Winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who was born in Columbia.
Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.
In my opinion, the greatest opening sentence in any novel. I'll grant that A Tale of Two Cities starts out with a bang as well.
I agree. I've always loved the first pages of the book, and the woman who, seeing a train for the 1st time, describes it as a "kitchen dragging a village."
He used Aureliano as his code name when he was with the guerillas, per Wikipedia. The entry is worth checking out.
The first of two seasons of the adaptation is on Netflix already, and it is absolutely luminous.
If there is anything to complain about, it is disgraceful that Netflix has not promoted this more within the anglosphere. Truly magical, wonderful, incredible visual story telling.
Also, for those who would prefer to be able to read it in the original Spanish but cannot, take heart: Marquez said that he thought the english translation was even better than the original! 🙂
A thing of true beauty. At least we live to hear the voices of heroes in these bleak times.
Assuming the only issue in Columbia’s mind is the use of military aircraft, and Trump’s ego can be tamped down a bit, I’m sure with the advice of the likes of the Governors of Texas and Florida, Trump would be willing to take that statement at face value and start flying deportees of any nationality to Columbia. On civilian aircraft.
"Trump would be willing to take that statement at face value and start flying deportees of any nationality to Columbia. On civilian aircraft."
Like.........his own? Trump Airlines?
More likely whatever the heir apparent to “Air America” might be.
Ah, to hear something even slightly like that from a Democrat in the House or Senate!
it'll never happen
Walt Whitman and Paul Simon! Two of my own favorites. That man has serially good taste!
Looks like Trump is not the only one who likes grandstanding for domestic political support as opposed to negotiating like an adult.
To be fair, thought, all the world leaders have learned that there is no point in negotiating with a bully like him.
They've long since caught on to Trump. Contrary to Theodore Roosevelt's maxim, Trump speaks loudly and carries a small stick.
Hah!, But the Taliban did a pretty good job negotiating with Trump, didn't they?
But no, actually, I was saying that the Colombian President seemed to be more interested in whipping up nationalist sentiment with what appears to be over-the-top claims, probably with an eye towards improving his domestic popularity more than anything else. And that reminds me of Trump, who is given to rhetorical tantrums rather than normal international problem solving.
Tell me, since you've been so jack-assedly wrong about so many, many things: a) Where's the grandstanding, and b) how would you propose to 'negotiate like an adult' with the likes of Trump?
Yes, because the proper response to someone trying to barge into your house without so much as a "hello" is "wait, can't we talk about this?"
This is what negotiation looks like in the Trump era.
His history is a bit dubious, though. Colombia was the belligerent in the Coto War, and was trying to take Costa Rica.
Panamanians weren't exactly happy about Colombia, which they were under the 'protection' of at the time, starting another war on their territory.
The US only offered naval assets for peacekeeping - and similarly forced Panamanian forces to release their foothold in Costa Rica.
Yeah, this was in protection of corporate assets, but aside that motive, it's a fairly clean intervention.
I won't even get to his 'first independent country' bravado or his anti-unionist spiel. History makes for weird bedfellows.
I have to question the translation on that Sacco and Vanzetti passage-- the idea that he'd hold trade unions responsible for executing them doesn't make any sense to me, nor does labeling unions fascistic. I don't remember anything from their statements leading in that direction, either.
Yeah, I find it dubious, too, but he's got to commie bash a little due to Venezuela, so maybe that's why?
Trump has now imposed tariffs on all imports from Colombia. 25% this week, going to 50% next week.
I know I’ll be accused of overreacting, but we’re heading toward a worst-case outcome with Trump at the wheel. The free world falls, or a worldwide depression, or both. Timetable TBD.
Where's the 25th amendment when you need it? Put Trump in a rubber room now.
Stock up on coffee, while you can.
Maybe the Congress should limit the president's authority to unilaterally impose tariffs. Even a simple clause like, "The president must correctly explain how tariffs work before exercising this authority."
Maybe congress should rethink executive power.
What a joy.
We just ate some corn for dinner in solidarity!
And this week, I will make tortilla, on my own. I was taught, many years ago, by a woman in Guatemala. There were chickens walking through her open-air kitchen, but when I went to reach for some of the masa to fork a tortilla, she slapped my hand away and pointed to the rain barrel -- go wash your hands first.
I don't think bashing Trump is any use right now. It just feeds the beast that MAGA has become.
But standing in solidarity with our freedom loving friends here at home and in other nations? Embracing their gifts to all the world? That is powerful in these confusing times.
That's patently unfair. The convicted felon Trump can't read that many words in one sitting, let alone understand them.
/S
Is it still snark if it's literally true?
😏
“You can’t go out there and publicly defy us in that way,” a Trump administration official told CNN. “We’re going to make sure the world knows they can’t get away with being nonserious and deceptive.” Why not? Nonserious and deceptive is basically what Trump is.
meanwhile on Fox this is how they report it:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/colombian-leader-quickly-caves-after-trump-threats-offers-presidential-plane-deportation-flights
Reliable commenters at Lawyers Guns & Money advise that the translation has watered down some choice, crude Spanish insults.
"I shake hands with the white libertarian heirs of Lincoln and the black and white farm boys of the USA, at whose graves I cried and prayed on a battlefield, which I reached after walking the mountains of Italian Tuscany and after being saved from Covid."
These words are heartfelt gems. Unfortunately, they are pearls wasted on Trump.
Who the heck is Miller?
Arthur or Beer
Could he mean Stephen Miller?
Nah…..
/s
Henry.
Trump can't even spell the name of the country correctly. He is full of....Covfefe
Latest press release from the WH says that Colombia has backed down because of how awesome Trump is.
Colombia has not yet said anything. I imagine they have a different take.
https://bsky.app/profile/lizdye.bsky.social/post/3lgoy6arbts22
NYT is currently reporting it as Petro backing down. But their story is actually all over the place as to what occurred. But they indicate tariffs are off for now.
That is both good and bad. Good that we aren't starting a trade war that will destabilize things further. Bad that he gave Trump a win, which only encourages more bad behavior.
Yes, Petro agreed to trump's stubborn insistence that the US will adhere to its policy of deporting only unshackled migrants and only in civilian aircraft. In other news, we have always been at war with Eastasia.
My big question is just how the NYT will phrase this as more emerges. They increasingly outdo NYT Pitchbot's best work.
I would imagine Trump agreed to only send immigrants on civilian planes, so really Trump caved, because Colombia was already willing to accept civilian flights of deportees. A win for Colombia but the media will kiss Trump's ass instead of reporting ot correctly because in less than a week we now live in Fascist Occupied America.
of course trump will not read the reply from president petro. too long. he'll have one of his minions read an edited version to him.
> of course trump will not read the reply from president petro
Trump **could** not read the reply, not in any meaningful sense. This is above an 8th grade reading level if you actually intend to understand it, and that's out of both his reach and his grasp.
Tell us how you really feel, Mr. Petro!