Sen. Menendez claims Trump administration surreptitiously deporting Venezuelans
The Trump administration has been surreptitiously deporting Venezuelans through third countries even though U.S. law prohibits the forced repatriation of refugees to places where their lives or their freedom could be threatened, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez said Friday.
The New Jersey Democrat urged the administration to provide Congress with information on the undisclosed deportations of the refugees through Trinidad & Tobago, including details on the number of “innocent Venezuelans who were forced back to Nicolás Maduro’s murderous dictatorship,” and whether those deportations have ceased.
“New documents provided to my office confirm that U.S. deportations to Venezuela continued via third countries at least until March 2020, while the Trump Administration has offered little assurance that it will not continue to forcibly return Venezuelans to a regime the United Nations recently stated has committed crimes against humanity,” Menendez wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The letter — also addressed to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and the Department of Homeland Security — expresses additional concern amid signs that the flights continued for months after the Federal Aviation Administration banned all air transportation of passengers to or from any airport in Venezuela in May 2019.
Earlier this year, Copa Airlines was fined for operating similar flights between the United States and Venezuela, using Panama as a stopover point.
The Cuban-American senator accused the administration of hypocrisy in deporting Venezuelans to a country denounced throughout the world for human-rights violations.
“U.S. law forbids the forcible return of refugees to a place where their lives or freedom would be threatened, U.S. regulations have suspended all air travel to Venezuela, and U.S. foreign policy should be to counter the Maduro regime’s systematic abuses of human rights. The administration’s continued deportation of Venezuelan nationals appears to undermine these policies,” Menendez added.
Millions of Venezuelans have fled their homes in recent years to escape violence, economic collapse and growing oppression under the Maduro regime. Tens of thousands entered the United States requesting political asylum, claiming to be victims of political persecution.
Many of the Venezuelans seeking asylum in the United States, however, have seen their cases stalled under an administration that has hardened its stance on immigrants.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 5:37 PM.
