Trump Announces Tariffs Against Colombia Over Blocked Deportation Flights; DEA Detains 50 Illegal Immigrants in Colorado

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, President Trump announces sanctions, tariffs, and more on Colombia over an immigration-related disagreement. That's as he floats the idea of sending 90,000 armed IRS agents to the southern border. 50 people arrested in a 3 a.m. warehouse raid in Colorado by federal agents and law enforcement. Find out more about what they found. Trump reveals a controversial plan for the future of the Gaza Strip, and one country in the region has already rejected it. The fires in California are mostly contained, but L.A. residents now have to deal with the cleanup of toxic ash. One young mother shares her story. Want to see some traditional celebrations before the Chinese New Year kicks off? Well, we'll be taking you to upstate New York to see how one local community celebrates. This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Good evening, and thank you for joining us tonight. I'm Keona Jee. President Trump announces tariffs, sanctions, and more against Colombia. Now, this is after the nation turned away a deportation flight that was directed by Trump. The president also says that he might be sending IRS agents armed with guns to the southern border. Here are those updates. President Trump on Saturday floated the idea of moving IRS agents to the border to patrol the area while armed with guns. I think we're going to move them to the border. Well, they're allowed to carry guns. You know, they're so strong on guns. Trump made the remarks in Las Vegas after touring destruction in North Carolina left by Hurricane Helene. He also visited California, where he toured Los Angeles and spoke with local leaders about the fires that have affected thousands. Trump says Biden hired almost 90,000 IRS agents during his term. According to the president, those agents go after American citizens, which he says they shouldn't. They hired or tried to hire 88,000 new workers to go after you, and we're in the process of developing a plan to either terminate all of them or maybe we'll move them to the border. This comes as deportation flights to South America are already underway. The first plane under President Trump landed in Brazil on Saturday. They wouldn't give us water. It was difficult to get food. It was very hot with children inside the aircraft. We asked to go to the bathroom and they wouldn't let us. Meanwhile in Colombia, authorities turned away two U.S. military aircraft transporting immigrants. Trump already responded, saying the U.S. will impose tariffs on Colombia, a travel ban on its citizens, visa sanctions, and more. Colombia's president condemned the deportation flights, saying the migrants were treated like criminals. He says Colombia would welcome back deported migrants on civilian planes, saying they should be treated with dignity and respect. In the past, military planes have also been used to relocate individuals from one country to another. For instance, during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. And this just in, Colombia's president says that he'll facilitate a plane for the migrant returns. He says that this is to ensure a dignified return. Now, of course, this comes after President Trump warned of imposing those sanctions, but Trump also imposed emergency tariffs on Colombia. And he says that the tariffs will rise to 50% soon after Colombia imposed its own 25% tariffs on U.S. imports. Moving on, authorities detained nearly 50 people after a 3 a.m. raid in Colorado. Most of those arrested are believed to be in the county illegally. NTD's Collin Fredrickson has more. Federal agents said they were targeting illegal drugs in the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. The operation included Drug Enforcement Administration agents and other law enforcement agencies. Agents targeted a vacant warehouse used for Saturday night parties in Adams County. Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen said he suspects the invitations to the parties were posted by gang members and invites were sent out over social media. The warehouse parties took place over the course of several months. The agents made use of a federal search warrant to conduct the raid. The operation began at 9 p.m. on Saturday before agents moved in on the location by 3 a.m. the next morning. Pullen said drugs, weapons and money were also seized from the warehouse. Specific drugs include crack, cocaine and a drug known as pink cocaine. Pullen revealed that the arrests were part of a larger operation targeting the Tren de Aragua gang and part of Drug Enforcement agents targeting the gang over several months in the Denver area. President Trump has laid out a plan for the future of the Gaza Strip and he suggested that Arab nations take in Palestinian refugees. However not everyone is on board with his proposal. NTD's Jason Perry has the latest. President Trump called on Jordan and Egypt to take in more refugees from the Gaza Strip. While speaking with reporters from Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said the Gaza Strip is a mess right now and he suggested to quote clean out the whole thing. It's literally a demolition site right now almost everything's demolished and people are dying there so I'd rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location where they can maybe live in peace. And then he said it could be temporary or it could be long term. However Jordan's foreign minister on Sunday suggested that Jordan would not take in any Palestinian refugees. Our rejection of displacement is constant and will not change and this is not only a constant and steadfast position from which the kingdom cannot deviate. Also Trump ended former U.S. President Joe Biden's hold on sending 2,000 pound bombs to Israel. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a message to Trump on Sunday. Thank you President Trump for keeping your promise to give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself to confront our common enemies and to secure a future of peace and prosperity. Trump said they released those bombs to Israel on Saturday. Jason Perry, NCD News. Now staying on President Trump's plan to as he puts it clean out the Gaza Strip. We're now joined live by David Wormser, analyst for Middle East Affairs at the Center for Security Policy. David, good evening. It's good to see you. I just want to start off and get your opinion on this whole thing. What do you think of Trump's plan? Well you know that the president is so refreshingly out of the box and is thinking sometimes. And I think that's what has to be. What we've seen until now for 30 years is peacemaking, two-state solution. Basically Washington collectively has been banging its head against the wall and winding up with the same result only to go back and bang its head against the wall some more. And here comes President Trump and I think he's coming up with a very refreshing new idea. I think if we look at it not as a forced transfer but if the borders just open up and Palestinians are allowed to leave if they want. I think we'll find that most Palestinians will quickly take that option. Well David, I think when we're discussing this plan there's really those two basic questions here, right? First, if Egypt and Jordan would agree. And we know that Jordan has already refused this suggestion at least so far. And then the second question, right? Would Palestinians themselves agree to such a deal? Now you say that you think some of them would. So what do you think? Well I'll start with the second part first. The Palestinians agreeing. The Palestinian Authority won't and neither will Hamas because in the end both are still committed to replacing Israel, to ending Israel's existence. So if they lose a good portion of their population it sort of damages their long-term aspirations to establish a Palestinian state instead of Israel. What you have though is the Palestinian people themselves. So I think that on a popular or an individual basis Palestinians will grab the opportunity if they get a chance. Now about the first part, Egypt and Jordan. Well right now we're not asking them to take them right out. We're asking them to open the border and receive them. We don't know if that's for going further to other countries or so forth. Jordan's a bit tricky. Jordan was created in 1922 as the Arab state of Palestine. So it's the original Palestinian state and it is between estimates between 60 and 75 percent Palestinian. And the king's wife is Palestinian and his child therefore is half Palestinian. So it's a natural thing for Palestinians to want to go there and many families two, three generations back came from there. Similarly in Egypt many families in Gaza actually came from Egypt originally. So I think it's not unrealistic to think that there is an absorption possibility but at the moment these governments are going to say no they don't want to go out on a limb yet. But over time as incentives are created and they begin to consider the alternatives if that doesn't happen that becomes a problem and they may may relent. And so let's say these incentives are created. These governments agree to this and then some million and a half people are then moved and resettled at least temporarily. I mean what happens then? How does the rebuilding begin in the Gaza Strip? Who has jurisdiction over that? What's the logistics? Well I think the Israelis in the United States and the UAE and Saudi Arabia are working to create an authority in Gaza to rebuild it. The problem is you have Hamas still ruling and that's where really the origin of this idea comes from. You really have two choices. Either Israel goes back in and resumes the war and this time extremely heavy and very aggressively and occupies the entirety of Gaza with really the population fully under their control and then Israel sits there for three four years as they purge it of all remnants of Hamas. Or you can have many people leave and then the Israelis have the ability to work with other powers to come into this relatively depopulated place for the moment and rebuild it without worrying about Hamas because Hamas has been with the population essentially moved out of the country. And then you let people back in to this rebuilt Gaza. So I think that's the concept. It's actually to avoid a major war. Now David I've got less than a minute here. I want to get your take on what we're seeing happen right now. We just heard Jason Perry report there that Trump ended that hold on giving Israel 2,000 pound bombs. We're still seeing Israeli troops deployed in southern Lebanon and blocking thousands of Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza. So looking at the ceasefire that we do have now how long or do you think it will hold? Well I think the Gaza one will hold probably most of the way to the end of the agreement at least for the first two three more weeks. But I don't think it'll go on much beyond that because ultimately it is a plan to get rid of Hamas and Hamas therefore won't accept. In Lebanon we're even seeing greater stresses. The Lebanese army accompanied Hezbollah fighters to the south. They're supposed to be dismantling them and removing them north to north of the Litani River. Instead they're actually facilitating the return of Hezbollah. So I don't give the ceasefire in the north all that long. I think in the next month we'll probably see eruption of war on both sides and then eventually decisiveness that then will lead to an era of peacekeeping, peacemaking. And we'll see what President Trump decides to do when that happens. David Worms, analyst for Middle East Affairs at the Center for Security Policy. Thanks for joining us tonight. Thank you. Moving on, newly inaugurated Secretary of State Marco Rubio is going after the Taliban now. He says that he might place a bounty on the leaders of the terrorist organization. Rubio says the Taliban is holding more Americans hostage than previously known. He tweeted, quote, if this is true we will have to immediately place a very big bounty on their top leaders, maybe even bigger than the one we had on bin Laden. The International Criminal Court applied for arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders on Thursday. The court accuses them of persecuting women and girls. Another top U.S. agency puts its weight behind the lab leak theory. The CIA issued a new assessment this week with analysts saying that they now favor that theory. NTD's Don Ma has more. The COVID-19 pandemic more likely came from a lab rather than nature. The CIA is the latest to point its finger at China, joining two other top U.S. agencies. The assessment makes a shift in stance from the intelligence agency that has for years refrained from making a conclusion on the issue. The report was completed during the Biden administration, was declassified and released Saturday on the orders of the new CIA director picked by Donald Trump. The CIA has assessed that the most likely cause of this pandemic that has wrought so much devastation around the world was because of a lab related incident in Wuhan. And so we'll continue to investigate that moving forward. But I think it was important for the American people to see an institution like the CIA get off the sidelines and and be truthful about what our intelligence shows at the same time of protecting us from adversaries like China if they caused or contributed to this. However, the intelligence agency emphasized that it has low confidence in the assessment and still considers it plausible that the virus came from nature. It was not made based on new intelligence gathered by the U.S. government but a review of existing information. Since the pandemic broke out from Wuhan City, Beijing has silenced on-the-ground citizen journalists, doctors and academics who sought to shed light on the issue or criticize the regime's handling of the virus. Other than the CIA, the FBI and the Energy Department have also said the virus had originated from a lab. Dawn Ma, NTD News. A look now at the political situation in South Korea. President Yoon Seok-yol was indicted today on charges of leading an insurrection, this after imposing martial law last month. Yoon declared martial law on December 3rd of 2024, claiming he would eradicate pro-North Korean anti-state forces. Now he said he had no choice but to resort to such a measure in order to safeguard free and constitutional order, saying that opposition parties had taken hostage of the parliamentary process in order to throw the country into a crisis. Yoon revoked martial law roughly six hours after lawmakers voted down the decree after being confronted by soldiers in the parliament building. Yoon was then impeached by parliament and suspended from his duties on December 14th. Anti-corruption investigators last week recommended charging him. Last week at a constitutional court hearing in his impeachment trial, Yoon and his lawyers argued that his intentions were never to fully impose martial law and that his actions were actually meant as a warning to end political deadlock. Yoon has been in solitary confinement since he was arrested on January 15th. The top court has 180 days to decide whether to remove him from office or reinstate his presidential powers. In South Korea, insurrection is one of the few criminal charges that go beyond a sitting president's immunity and it's punishable by life imprisonment or even death. However, the nation has not executed anyone in decades. When we come back, a look at Vice President J.D. Vance's first interview after taking office. Find out what he had to say on illegal immigration, FEMA and more. And want to see some traditional celebrations before the Chinese New Year kicks off? Well, we'll be taking you upstate, see how a local community celebrates. 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It's pre-diabetes and it captures one in three adults but you can escape. Take the one-minute pre-diabetes risk test to know where you stand and prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. Be your own hero on smartphones everywhere at doihaveprediabetes.org. There's a whirlwind of emotion and activity going on in this painting and this chaos all around and threat from below. The wolves surrounding her and they're anything but unmoved. They're moving all the time and we sense that but this little girl remains unmoved. She's in quite a perilous situation but she's completely strong and serene and she's actually meditating. It was very very well liked because no matter what culture or what sort of walk of life you're from, I think people they see it and they immediately understand what that energy, what that message is and they they're drawn to it because everybody kind of needs a little bit of that in their own life of you know the steadfast calmness and something to hold on to. It's definitely an inner peace in the midst of something very chaotic and for a lot of people right now the whole world is very very chaotic so I guess that's another reason why so many people are very drawn to this. Thanks for staying with us. The LA fires have created a toxic ash mixture. Now that's a mixture of incinerated electronics and building materials that are dangerous to human health. One young mother shares her story. The fires are mostly contained but toxic ash now plagues LA residents. There's so much ash. The neighborhood is filled with ash. Even if they clean the ash and remove the ash, it's going to come back. Kelly Farone is considering moving to send her child to a safer elementary school. Experts say the ash is harmful to human health. This ash can have various plastics, pesticides, lots of different things that have burned that are potentially toxic and we're concerned especially for children. Professor Lisa Patel says the fires burn homes, cars, electronics, all the which releases air pollution that harms humans. It could lead to respiratory issues, cancer, brain damage and kidney problems. We don't have like a big vacuum cleaner to take all of that out so it's entering the soil, it's entering the groundwater and so it can be persistent. Patel says it could take months before it's safe. Farone says her school is trying to convince parents it's safe to send kids back but she's not convinced. We're not sending our kids back. We're going to have to find a different school and I've spoken to a hundred other families that feel the same way. The fines are still ongoing. The Palisades fire has been 81 percent contained. The Eden fire 95 percent contained as of Saturday. A look now at J.D. Vance's first interview since taking office. The vice president sat down with CBS's Margaret Brennan to discuss a variety of topics ranging from cabinet confirmations to President Trump's latest efforts on illegal immigration. In the Face the Nation interview that aired Sunday, Vice President Vance was asked about the court challenges against President Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal or non-permanent residents. If you're here permanently and lawfully, your kid becomes an American citizen. If you're not here permanently, if you're not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and don't plan to be, why would we make those people's children American citizens permanently? Vance also said that law enforcement should be allowed to enter churches and schools to detain people convicted of violent crimes regardless of their immigration status. These comments came as ICE officials have already begun raids and deportations of illegal immigrants convicted of crimes. On the issue of energy and grocery prices, the vice president said that more capital investment in the U.S. would lower prices, mentioning as well that there would be more executive action with regards to this issue. Margaret, how does bacon get to the grocery store? It comes on trucks that are fueled by diesel fuel. If the diesel is way too expensive, the bacon is going to become more expensive. How do we grow the bacon? Our farmers need energy to produce it. So if we lower energy prices, we are going to see lower prices for consumers. In reference to President Trump's stance on FEMA, the vice president said that there needs to be reform. FEMA management officials don't work well enough with state and local officials to get resources to the people who need it. We should expect, and this is I think one of the fundamental premises of President Trump's leadership, the American people should expect more of their government. The interview covered a wide range of other subjects as well. Vice President Vance said that he has confidence in newly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth, as well as President Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, who is scheduled to appear for a confirmation hearing later in the week. The U.S. State Department will no longer follow a Biden-era rule that would allow people to claim X as their gender on passports. This follows an executive order signed by Trump. Now, the order recognizes that there are two sexes and that they are not changeable. In 2022, the Biden administration allowed X as a gender choice on passports as an alternative to either male or female. An official also told reporters that the State Department would use the term sex instead of gender. The official said this is because sex is an unchangeable biological classification. And it's only three days before the Chinese New Year. A store located in upstate New York brought local residents some joyful classic programs to celebrate. Take a look. The freezing weather didn't seem to stop residents in Middletown, New York, from gathering together to enjoy some traditional Chinese culture. Inside the Palmer Store, New Middletown, a lion dance kicked off the celebration, captivating children's attention. These female and male dancers are actually students from Feitian College who majored in classical Chinese dance. Dennis is a local resident. He and his wife brought their three grandchildren to the event. My first impression was how gracious and beautiful they all were. And I particularly like the performances where they dance together because the discipline and the gracious ease with which they coordinate together is extremely impressive. I can only imagine how hard they practice to make it look so graceful. Dennis also shared his new understanding of traditional Chinese culture. Their approach to the New Year celebration is to approach it with beauty and joy and optimism. We could learn from that. A longtime resident said he really loves to see the traditions of other cultures. We love having other cultures come in here and so beautiful and elegant and just as beautiful. Joseph DeStefano, the mayor of Middletown, also attended the New Year celebration. It's a big event for us now, you know, where the Chinese community is growing in our community. Some of the people coming here are really shocked when they see the talent and the messaging and the talent and the talent is just amazing and that uniform understanding of people's cultures. We take this opportunity for Chinese New Year and we here at the New Middletown, we wish everyone a happy, healthy Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year is also known as Lunar New Year. It's the biggest festival for the Asian community across the world. The history of this tradition can be traced back to about 3,500 years ago. Fleur Hua, NTD News. Thanks for watching. I'm Fiona Ji. Good night.