Two planes from Venezuela brought back nearly 200 Venezuelans who had entered the U.S. illegally to their homeland on Monday. It is part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan and, at the same time, heralds a potential thaw in the relations between two long-standing adversaries.
The 190 deported migrants arrived in Caracas aboard Conviasa airline flights from Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army base in El Paso, Texas.
“Two planes of illegal immigrants left El Paso today headed to Venezuela – paid for by the Venezuelans,” Trump envoy Richard Grenell, who oversaw the deportations, wrote on X.
Thank you, @realDonaldTrump.
Two planes of illegal immigrants left El Paso today headed to Venezuela – paid for by the Venezuelans. pic.twitter.com/Tc7GmwfOJp
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) February 10, 2025
Resumption of Deportation Flights
Deportation flights from the U.S. to Venezuela had been suspended for years, except for a brief resumption under the Biden administration in October 2023. Since 2021, large numbers of Venezuelans have arrived at the U.S. southern border, making Venezuela’s previous refusal to accept deported nationals a significant challenge.
Repatriation flights to Venezuela have resumed, with Ambassador @RichardGrenell overseeing the first two flights.
MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. 🇺🇸✈️ pic.twitter.com/ZAUpwFjhIk
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 10, 2025
The decision by Venezuela to take in its citizens happened after Grennell’s recent visit to Caracas. The development is a win for the diplomacy of the Trump administration, that has been bullying countries into opening their borders and accepting their deportees.
Calls for Peaceful Cooperation
Nicolas Maduro was welcoming the deportees, though he said more needed to be done to get better diplomatic cooperation. “This is the world we want, a world of peace, understanding, dialogue, and cooperation,” Maduro said.
The Venezuelan government confirmed the flights earlier on Monday, refuting allegations that deported Venezuelans included members of the Tren de Aragua gang.
“Most Venezuelan migrants are decent and hard-working people, and American officials are attempting to stigmatize the country,” the government’s statement read.
Controversy Over Guantánamo Bay Detention
The deportation flights were a few days after some of the migrants were deported to the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. The detainees are being held separately from the 15 individuals already there, including those accused of planning the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
However, a federal judge in New Mexico issued an injunction this week that prevents the Trump administration from deporting three Venezuelan men to Guantánamo Bay. The attorneys of the accused say their clients were wrongly identified as having associations with the Tren de Aragua gang.
With the Trump administration continuing to intensify the enforcement of immigration rules, Venezuelan migrant returns become yet another piece in the shift in diplomatic tensions and policy discourse.
