Colombia cancels U.S. deportation flights due to "cruel" mistreatment of migrants: The Guardian

LONDON, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Colombia has suspended U.S. deportation flights returning citizens detained at the Mexico border due to "cruel and degrading treatment" by U.S. migration officials, British newspaper The Guardian has reported.

Fernando Garcia, head of Colombia's migration agency, said some migrants were subjected to cruel and degrading treatment before boarding and during the flights, including the use of cuffs for hands and feet.

"There are recurring complaints about the poor conditions in detention centers and mistreatment during flights, which represented a determining factor in the decisions adopted in the last few hours," Garcia was quoted as saying by the Guardian last Friday.

The number of Colombians trying to migrate north to the United States has soared in recent years, according to the report. Colombia expected to receive some 1,200 migrants in flights programmed to arrive from the United States during the first week of May, the country's migration agency said in a statement.