US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered sweeping tariffs and sanctions against Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept military deportation flights, seeking to punish one of his most defiant critics in Latin America.

Colombia's left-leaning President Gustavo Petro did not back down, announcing his own tariffs against US products, as he vowed that returning migrants be treated with dignity, reports AFP. Trump, back in office for less than a week, promised to impose 25 percent tariffs on products from Colombia -- the source of one-fifth of coffee in the United States -- and to raise them to 50 percent in a week.

It was unclear how quickly the tariffs would come as Colombia, historically one of Washington's closest allies in Latin America, enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.

"These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Not to be outdone, Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, said he had instructed his minister for external trade "to raise tariffs on imports from the US to 25 percent. In a long broadside on X addressed to Trump he declared: "You will never dominate us."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, days away from a trip to Latin America aimed at pushing Trump's agenda, said that the US embassy in Bogota was suspending all issuance of visas. He also said he was imposing visa restrictions on Colombian officials and their immediate family members, with Trump vowing to subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at US airports.