A simmering diplomatic stand-off over deportation flights spilled onto social media Sunday, threatening the once close relationship between the US and Colombia and further exposing the anxiety many feel in Latin America towards a second Trump presidency.

Colombia’s president tussled by tweet with President Donald Trump this weekend, pulling back from the cusp of a trade war after the White House insisted the South American nation accept deportees as part of Trump’s hardline immigration push.

The first of two Colombian air force planes carrying people who were deported from the United States arrived in Bogota early on Tuesday, local media said, paving the way for U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to lift visa restrictions and other measures on Colombian citizens.