Brazil's foreign ministry on Monday summoned a senior U.S. diplomat to discuss the deportation of Brazilian migrants, part of a push to seek mutually acceptable terms for the controversial repatriations.
The summon comes a day after a major flare up over migrant repatriations from the U.S. to Colombia.
Gabriel Escobar, currently the highest-ranking U.S. envoy in Brasilia, met officials from Brazil's foreign ministry on Monday, as the United States ramps up deportations under President Donald Trump, including on military flights transporting shackled migrants.
Brazil's government said on Saturday that it would seek explanations from U.S. authorities over what it called described as degrading treatment of Brazilians on a deportation flight last Friday.
It was gathered that the deportees arrived in Brazil in handcuffs.
They described mistreatment during the flight, including physical abuse and refusals to allow bathroom breaks.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of State has not commented on the development.
According to Brazil's federal police, the flight was the second this year from the United States carrying undocumented migrants returned to Brazil and the first since Trump's took office last week.
A Brazilian diplomatic source said that the South American country's government called for the diplomatic meeting to address issues related to the flight, adding that it intends to pursue talks with the Trump administration to avoid further problems.
DAILY POST reports that Friday's flight carried 88 Brazilians as well as 16 U.S. security agents, and was originally scheduled to arrive in the city of Belo Horizonte in southeastern Minas Gerais state.
However, it made an unscheduled stop in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, due to technical problems, where Brazilian officials ordered the removal of the handcuffs.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also designated a Brazilian Air Force plane to complete the migrants' journey.
Recall that on Sunday, Trump and Colombian President, Gustavo Petro pulled back from the brink of a trade war after the White House said the South American nation agreed to accept military aircraft transporting deported migrants.
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