Speech in Translation

A translated speech provides insight into Colombia’s stance on a recent trade dispute

There’s something about a woman who can deliver an eloquent and passionate speech that inspires me.

In case you’ve been living under a rock — or your news network of choice didn’t cover it as well as it should’ve — the United States and Colombia erupted in a trade dispute on Sunday, January 26. The United States sent a plane of deportees to Colombia, and Colombia refused them after learning of the undignified way they were treated. They would not let them land in their own country in chains.

Trump responded with tariffs. Colombia responded with their own tariffs of nearly 50%. Yes, you nearly lost your Colombian coffee and flowers just before Valentine’s Day.

A deal was reached around 4:00 AM Monday. When the deportees arrived, they explained to the press the horrific treatment and conditions they were subjected to in the ICE detention centers. How they were stripped. Their belonging taken away. How even children were handcuffed. Etc.

Honduras President Xiomara Castro summoned her counterparts from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to meet on Thursday, January 30 to discuss strategies for dealing with this new regime.