Again, you're assuming the Chinese thing is a new flirtation.

No, I'm not. I'm pointing out that just like U.S. actions can affect what Colombia does vis-a-vis our deportation flights, they can also affect what Colombia does vis-a-vis their economic and strategic policy.

A Colombia that regards the U.S. as a friend and ally will "flirt" with the Chinese differently than a Colombia that has just been threatened and demeaned by the U.S.

There are consequences to the actions we take. It's foolhardy to just shut our eyes to that and pretend that everything would have happened anyway, so we don't ever have to worry about any consequences to our policy choices other than the ones we want and intend. The real world doesn't work that way.

We just triggered a major diplomatic confrontation with the fourth largest country in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the largest economies in Latin America.....just so we could send back their deportees in military planes rather than (cheaper!) civilian aircraft. I'm sure it made Trump and his supporters feel good, but it's just trading a small short-term benefit for a much larger longer-term negative. We just smoothed the path for China - not just in Colombia, but all the other countries in the region. Oh, yes - they've been put "on notice," but not on notice for just the things Trump wants them to. They've been put "on notice" that they better work a lot harder and faster to make the Western Hemisphere more multipolar, since they will no longer be able to rely on the U.S. to be a supportive partner going forward.