Flights carrying deported migrants will continue landing in Venezuela this week
Two additional flights carrying migrants are expected to arrive in Venezuela this week — one from Honduras, scheduled for Thursday afternoon and another from the United States on Friday — as repatriation efforts continue in response to the Trump administration’s stricter immigration policies.
The flight from Honduras is expected to carry approximately 180 migrants, while the number arriving from the U.S. has yet to be confirmed. Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello stated that only one individual aboard the Honduras flight is flagged with an Interpol red notice, indicating the person is wanted in connection with a criminal investigation.
Cabello, a key figure in President Nicolás Maduro’s security apparatus, pushed back against claims by the Trump administration that many of the deported Venezuelans are criminals, asserting that the majority are law-abiding citizens.
With this week’s arrivals, the total number of Venezuelans repatriated in recent months could reach approximately 2,500, as the Maduro government continues its efforts to bring back citizens who fled the country. “The president gave a very clear order,” Cabello said on national television, referring to Maduro. “We will not rest until we bring back all the Venezuelans who are outside our country.”
An estimated 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country in recent years, fleeing political repression, economic turmoil and violence they attribute to the regime. Over 900,000 have sought refuge in the United States, many of whom now face the risk of deportation under the tightening immigration stance of the Trump administration.
The Maduro government initially agreed to accept deportation flights following a meeting in Caracas between Maduro and U.S. envoy Richard Grenell. In exchange, the new administration was going to allow Venezuela to continue selling oil in the international markets. However, the arrangement quickly deteriorated after President Trump criticized Maduro for not repatriating migrants swiftly enough.
Despite the breakdown of that agreement and the subsequent revocation of licenses that allowed foreign oil companies to operate in Venezuela, the Maduro government has continued accepting deportation flights, often using them to bolster domestic political messaging and for propaganda purposes against the U.S.
This story was originally published April 10, 2025 at 3:20 PM.
