This action aligns with former President Donald Trump's extensive deportation strategy, marking a potential thaw in the strained relations between the two nations and a diplomatic success for the Trump administration, which has been advocating for countries to reclaim their citizens found unlawfully in the U.S.
As reported by Fox News, the Conviasa airline flights touched down in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, after departing from Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army base located in El Paso, Texas. Richard Grennell, Trump's envoy who managed the deportations, announced on X, "Two planes of illegal immigrants left El Paso today headed to Venezuela - paid for by the Venezuelans." This marks a resumption of deportation flights to Venezuela, which had been largely halted for years, with a brief exception in October 2023 under President Biden's administration.
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The influx of Venezuelans at the southern U.S. border since 2021 has posed a significant challenge, with Venezuela's previous reluctance to accept their return being a major obstacle. However, following Grennell's recent visit to Caracas, Venezuela has shown a newfound readiness to repatriate its citizens. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro expressed a desire for "a world of peace, understanding, dialogue and cooperation."
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The Venezuelan government confirmed the flights, while also condemning what it described as an "ill-intentioned" and "false" narrative regarding the presence of Tren de Aragua gang members in the U.S. The government emphasized that most Venezuelan migrants are "decent and hard-working people" and accused American officials of attempting to tarnish the country's image.
These deportation flights occurred shortly after some illegal immigrants were transferred to the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, where they are kept separate from the 15 detainees already there, including those involved in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. A federal judge in New Mexico temporarily halted the Trump administration's plan to send three Venezuelan men to Guantánamo Bay, following arguments from their lawyers that the men were unjustly accused of connections with the Tren de Aragua gang.
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Additionally, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has secured agreements with El Salvador and Guatemala to accept their citizens and other U.S. deportees. Following Grennell's diplomatic mission, Trump announced that the Venezuelan government had agreed to take back "all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of Tren de Aragua," and would finance their repatriation. Concurrently, half a dozen Americans detained in Venezuela were released.
This development underscores a shift in Venezuela's stance on repatriation and highlights the Trump administration's efforts to address illegal immigration through diplomatic channels. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
