A flight carrying nearly 200 Venezuelans has successfully returned home as both governments navigate complex diplomatic relations.
**US-Venezuela Deportation Flights Resume Amid Diplomatic Tensions**
**US-Venezuela Deportation Flights Resume Amid Diplomatic Tensions**
After a temporary halt, the US resumes deportations of Venezuelans as negotiations progress between two rival nations.
A plane carrying 199 Venezuelan deportees from the United States has touched down at Simón Bolívar airport in Caracas, marking the resumption of repatriation flights that had been paused due to a diplomatic rift. These flights had initially stopped after the Trump administration lifted a crucial license that allowed Venezuela to sell oil to the US despite existing sanctions.
Following negotiations that concluded on Saturday, US officials and Venezuelan leadership managed to agree on the terms for resuming these flights as part of a broader initiative to manage undocumented immigration. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro welcomed the returned migrants, framing it as an effort to "rescue and free migrants from prisons in the US." The deportees exhibited visible relief and joy upon their arrival at the airport.
The journey for the deportees began in Texas, where they were temporarily held before being transferred to Honduras. From there, they were flown back to Venezuela via the state-owned airline Conviasa. The US Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs characterized these individuals as "illegal aliens" lacking grounds to stay, highlighting the ongoing contentious nature of US immigration policy.
The Venezuelan government, represented by Jorge Rodríguez, insisted that migration should not be treated as a criminal act. In earlier deals struck in January, prior to the recent tensions, the US and Venezuela had established arrangements for repatriating Venezuelans who had faced legal issues in the United States.
The backdrop to these deportations includes a complex relationship, with Maduro previously indicating that American decisions to revoke operational licenses for companies like Chevron had negatively impacted diplomatic communication. Fast-forward to recent weeks, and the US carried out deportations of Venezuelans to El Salvador, which has drawn criticism from families asserting their relatives were unjustly targeted as gang affiliates.
In a bid to ensure ongoing cooperation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned of intensified sanctions against Venezuela if the nation resisted accepting its nationals being deported from the US. Following this, Maduro directed his government to expedite return flights for detained migrants, reiterating the importance of these arrangements amid strained ties.
