Colombia president orders deportation of undocumented migrants

Colombia’s President Abelardo de la Espriella has ordered a crackdown on illegal migration, instructing authorities to detain and deport undocumented foreigners convicted of crimes, Punch reports.

In a leaked video from a Sunday security cabinet meeting, De la Espriella said deportation procedures would begin “this week,” prioritising criminal offenders first. The hardline leader, who took office August 7, echoed Trump’s “America First” rhetoric, declaring “Colombians first.”

His crackdown agenda had been paused following an August 10 earthquake that killed over 300 people. Colombia hosts an estimated three million Venezuelan migrants who fled economic and political crisis.