Venezuela resumes accepting people deported from US

As President Donald Trump continues to impose his crackdown on foreigners, a plane carrying 199 deported Americans has made its way to Venezuela.

The plane touched down at Maiquetia International Airport, a short distance from Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, on Monday after making its way through Honduras. It was Venezuela’s most recent repatriation since January.

At the airport, Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello stated, “We are receiving 199 compatriots today.”

Young men in sweatsuits were seen exiting the aircraft on live footage. As officials watched, some were spotted smiling and clapping.

Following a two-week standoff, Venezuela announced on Saturday that it had reached an agreement with the US to resume repatriation flights.

Cabello stated at the airport, “Flights are resumed.” Venezuelans can be welcomed wherever they are by us.

Last month, the deportation pipeline was suspended. Trump argued that Venezuela’s commitment to receiving deported migrants quickly was not upheld. Afterward, Caracas declared it would no longer accept the flights.

The Trump administration has designated the Tren de Aragua gang as a “foreign terrorist organization,” and 238 Venezuelans are then deported to an El Salvador maximum-security prison.

Many were shocked and sparked discussions over constitutional rights as Washington carried out the deportation despite a court ruling requiring its delay, which used a 200-year-old law that allowed US presidents to detain or deport noncitizens during the war. Caracas also harshly criticized it.

strained relationships

Due to the US’s lack of trustworthy relations with Venezuela, the Trump administration sent deported Venezuelans to third countries in Central America, according to Clive Stafford Smith, a human rights lawyer.

Venezuela has deported about 350 people over the past month, including about 180 who were detained for 16 days at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Trump, however, claimed last month that Nicolas Maduro had “at the rapid pace” agreed when he claimed that the president had resisted deportations. He also revoked Chevron’s operating permit, a blow to Caracas’s fragile economy.

The tensions in relations are the result of a long-standing conflict.

After Washington recognized then-opposition leader Juan Guaido as “interim president” following elections that were widely dissented as neither free nor fair, the US and Venezuela diplomatically broke off in 2019.

In order to facilitate a deal between American prisoners and the promise of free elections, Maduro managed to maintain his hold on power and Joe Biden’s administration relaxed sanctions on Venezuelan oil. The reforms that were promised never materialized.

In a vote that he was frequently accused of stealing, Maduro was re-elected last year to a third six-year term that was not recognized by Washington.