April 15, 2020 - The Minister of Foreign Relations, Claudia Blum, and the Director of Colombian Immigration, Juan Francisco Espinosa, announced today that 114 Colombians are returning home today on a commercial flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Bogotá, Colombia. The Colombian nationals are on the registry of temporary visitors to the United States requiring support for their eventual return home.

The plane is also being used to transport U.S. citizens returning home to their country.

The return of Colombian citizens was made possible thanks to the authorized entry of the commercial flight by the Government of Colombia due to exceptional humanitarian circumstances, with adherence to the measures that Colombia has put in place to prevent the spread of the Covid-19.

The returning Colombians will be required to comply with protocols established by Migración Colombia, which includes mandatory preventive isolation in the city of Bogotá. They are being notified of the administrative and criminal implications of failing to follow the strict quarantine measures.

Once in Colombia, the returning compatriots will be evaluated by health authorities to confirm that they do not have symptoms associated with Covid-19. They will then be quarantined in the country's capital under the rigorous supervision of the appropriate authorities.

The flight and its passengers must comply with the controls and prevention measures established in Legislative Decree 439 of 2020 for this type of exceptional flight, which is authorized for humanitarian reasons.

Chancellor Claudia Blum reaffirmed that the Ministry will continue to support and guide all Colombians who are located abroad through its embassies and consulates.