It follows a spat with Donald Trump, during which the US president threatened a trade war after Colombia refused to accept deported migrants.
“Undocumented” Colombians working in the United States should “return as soon as possible”, the country’s president has said.
Gustavo Petro also said his government would provide loans to those who take up his offer to go back home and join one of its programmes to start a business.
“Wealth is produced only by the working people,” the leftist president commented on X.
“Let’s build social wealth in Colombia.”
His comments follow an argument with Donald Trump about deportations of illegal Colombian migrants from the United States.
The new US president threatened a trade war after Colombia refused to accept deportees.
Mr Trump said he would retaliate with “urgent and decisive” measures – including 25% emergency tariffs on Colombian goods – after the South American country turned away two US military planes.
Migrants onboard were being deported as part of Mr Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The White House later said Colombia had backed down.
It added that the Colombian government had “agreed to all of President Trump’s terms” including the “unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay”.
Mr Petro’s initial response had been bullish. “Your blockade does not scare me,” he wrote on X, “because Colombia, in addition to being the country of beauty, is the heart of the world”.
He also commented: “I don’t really like travelling to the US, it’s a bit boring.”
But a truce was negotiated following protests by investors concerned by the health of Colombia’s export economy, which relies heavily on purchases from the US.
