Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced on Monday that his government will send a plane to Mexico on Thursday to retrieve approximately 300 Venezuelan migrants, mostly women and children, who he claims fled the United States fearing persecution.
The decision comes amid the Trump administration's intensified immigration enforcement policies, which have led to the deportation of Venezuelans suspected of gang affiliations, including more than 200 which were sent to El Salvador's CECOT mega prison.
"Next Thursday, a plane will be sent to Mexico to rescue migrants who escaped persecution and crossed the border into Mexico," said Maduro on national television. "We are going to rescue about 300 migrants, most of them women and children." He also directed Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela's National Assembly, to engage with U.S. representatives regarding the situation, as reported by local newspaper El Nacional.
Maduro has strongly criticized the practice of transferring Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, calling the country "a second Guantánamo" where deportees are subjected to forced disappearances, as The Miami Herald reports. He has also demanded transparency regarding the deportation process, specifically requesting a list of the more than 200 migrants who were transferred to El Salvador two weeks ago.
His government has also sought to frame the repatriation flights as part of an effort to support Venezuelan citizens who have been affected by U.S. immigration policies. "Any migrant who returns will receive assistance," Maduro stated, adding that those with legal issues in Venezuela will be given access to due process.
Venezuela and the United States, which severed diplomatic ties in 2019, resumed deportation flights in January. However, tensions between the two countries have affected the agreement, particularly after Washington revoked a license allowing the U.S. oil company Chevron to operate in Venezuela. Since deportation flights resumed, approximately 918 Venezuelans have been sent back from the United States.
On Sunday, a new group of 175 Venezuelan deportees arrived in the country, news outlet NTN24 reported. Among them, the Maduro government claims, was the first high-profile criminal deported by Washington who was not affiliated with the notorious "Tren de Aragua" gang.
Instead, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello stated that the individual was linked to a criminal group based in the Venezuelan state of Trujillo known as "El Cagón." Despite U.S. allegations, Cabello claimed that no confirmed members of "Tren de Aragua" have been among the deportees sent back to Venezuela.
Originally published on Latin Times
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