POLITICS: A Diplomatic Weapon

President Donald Trump's recent standoff with Colombia suggests that tariffs could be a key White House tool for overcoming opposition to U.S. policy

- JESUS MESA

DURING A BRIEF STANDOFF between the U.S. and Colombia last month over deportation flights, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was seen in a video handling paperwork and taking calls while President Donald Trump posted threats on Truth Social of tariffs and sanctions in between lunch and a round of golf.

It served as the first major test for Rubio as America's chief diplomat and resulted in Colombia immediately backing down from its position that it would not accept migrant flights. When President Gustavo Petro reversed course, even pledging to send his presidential plane to pick up the migrants, many saw it as both a show of American strength and an unmistakable message to the region.

While the standoff was classic Trump-diplomacy by social media it was Rubio working behind the scenes to add teeth to the president's threats. He not only publicly backed Trump's tariffs, but also leveraged consular powers to impose unprecedented measures against Colombian officials almost immediately, including travel sanctions, revoking family members' visas and canceling visa appointments until they complied.

Rubio, a Cuban-American and fluent Spanish speaker, is well-versed in the geopolitical forces that shape Latin America and a fierce critic of the socialist regimes in countries like Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The son of Cuban exiles who fled Fidel Castro's regime before the revolution, he holds deeply rooted political and ideological views on Latin American affairs, often at odds with Petro's left-wing policies. "It was clear from the outset, with Trump as president and Rubio as secretary of state, that relations with Colombia would be fraught," Michael Shifter, a professor at Georgetown University and former president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank, told Newsweek.