Venezuela announces agreement to allow the United States to resume deportation flights for undocumented immigrants

March 23, 2025 TruthUSA

Maduro stated that he holds El Salvador responsible for incarcerating Venezuelan nationals who, he claims, have not committed any crimes in the United States or El Salvador.

Venezuela has announced that it will resume accepting U.S. repatriation flights deporting its nationals who entered the United States illegally.

In a televised address, Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro disclosed that an agreement had been reached on Saturday.

“Tomorrow, thanks to the government’s persistence, we will restart flights to continue rescuing and releasing migrants from U.S. prisons,” Maduro said.

Venezuela’s Parliament President and chief negotiator with the United States, Jorge Rodriguez, shared in a social media statement, “We have reached an agreement with the U.S. government to resume the repatriation of Venezuelan migrants with an initial flight scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday.”

This action aims to prevent Venezuelan nationals who are illegal immigrants from being deported to El Salvador’s detention centers and ensure “the return of our compatriots to their nation with the protection of their Human Rights,” Rodriguez stated, referencing Venezuelan gang members currently detained in El Salvador.

“Migrating is not a crime, and we will not stop until everyone who wishes to return is repatriated and we rescue our detained brothers in El Salvador,” Rodriguez emphasized.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for a response.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a warning on March 18 of additional severe sanctions after Maduro suspended the acceptance of repatriation flights on March 8 in retaliation to the U.S. Treasury Department revoking Chevron’s authorization to engage in Venezuela’s oil industry.

A dispute ensued, with the U.S. threatening to transfer criminal Venezuelan illegal immigrants to El Salvador for detention unless Caracas agreed to receive them.

Approximately 350 Venezuelan nationals had already been deported back to Venezuela as part of Trump’s expedited deportation initiative focusing on removing unlawful immigrants who are violent offenders or extremists. Among them were around 180 individuals alleged to be members of Tren de Aragua, who had spent up to 16 days at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Tren de Aragua originated in a Venezuelan prison. Members of this gang have accompanied a significant exodus of millions of economic migrants and political refugees from Venezuela in search of better living conditions following their nation’s political and economic collapse last decade.

In February, President Donald Trump officially classified Tren de Aragua, along with the transnational group Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and various drug syndicates, as terrorist organizations posing a threat to the security of U.S. citizens or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.

While Maduro continued the suspension, the Trump administration on March 15 invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, enabling the president to detain and deport noncitizens from hostile nations without requiring a judicial hearing. The Act is applicable during wartime or in the event of a “predatory incursion” or an effort or threat to invade U.S. territory. The White House asserted that Tren de Aragua constituted an invading force and vowed to deport gang members.

Approximately 250 Venezuelan illegal immigrants connected to Tren de Aragua were subsequently deported to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.

Venezuela’s minister of the interior refuted claims that the deportees were Tren de Aragua members.

The families and legal representatives of the deportees have been unable to contact them and have demanded Maduro secure their return to Venezuela. They argue that the Trump administration has not presented evidence that the deportees committed any wrongdoing in the United States. The Trump administration defended its authority to deport illegal immigrants, prioritizing criminals and others found in their vicinity.

In his televised address, Maduro reiterated that he holds El Salvador President Nayib Bukele accountable for detaining Venezuelan nationals, reiterating that they had not committed crimes in the United States or El Salvador.

“You must ensure their well-being and, as soon as possible, release them and hand them over,” he instructed Bukele.

Court Challenge

A federal judge in the District of Columbia issued an order temporarily halting the deportation of five Venezuelans, but the administration indicated that flights were already en route at the time of the ruling.

The planes landed in El Salvador, and Bukele posted on social media that the intervention came “too late.”

The White House has been accused of disregarding the judge’s order, a claim it denies.

Judge James Boesberg has instructed the Trump administration to provide more information on its officials’ assertions that they did not violate his order temporarily blocking the expulsions in a hearing scheduled for March 25.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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