Venezuela Sends 2 Planes to the US, Fetches 190 Deportees

Venezuelan illegal immigrants deported from the United States arrive at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, on Feb. 10, 2025. Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo

Two Venezuelan planes returned to Caracas carrying illegal immigrants from the United States on Monday, following the January deal between the two governments on deportation flights.

Deportation flights from the United States to Venezuela had been halted for years except for a brief period in October 2023.

The White House confirmed the flights in a Feb. 10 statement on social media platform X.

“Repatriation flights to Venezuela have resumed,” the post stated. “MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.”

The Associated Press reported that the planes returned to Venezuela with about 190 deportees onboard.

The flights are operated by Venezuelan airline Conviasa, according to a statement from the Venezuelan Minister of Information and Communication Freddy Náñez.

Náñez said that Washington had notified the Venezuelan government that some of the individuals returning were allegedly linked to criminal activities or involved in crimes associated with the Tren de Aragua gang.

Tren de Aragua was designated “a significant Transnational Criminal Organization” by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in July 2024.

At the time, the Treasury Department said the gang had rapidly expanded its presence throughout the Western Hemisphere and was engaged in “human smuggling and trafficking, gender-based violence, money laundering, and illicit drug trafficking.”

Náñez said these criminal groups were recruited and activated by “extremist opposition sectors to spread unrest and violence in our country” and “facilitated the escape of their leaders to other nations, including the United States.”

The individuals on the flight, allegedly affiliated with the gang, will be subjected to a “rigorous investigation” as soon as they land in Venezuela, Náñez said in the statement.

In a Feb. 10 social media post, Trump envoy Richard Grenell confirmed that the flights, which departed from Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army base in El Paso, Texas, were paid for by Venezuela.

Monday’s flights followed a deal struck in January between the Trump administration and Maduro, after Grenell met with the South American leader, though his presidency is not recognized by the United States,  and many other western countries.

Venezuelan illegal immigrants deported from the United States arrive at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, on Feb. 10, 2025. Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo

Grenell returned from that meeting with six Americans who had been detained by Venezuelan authorities.

In a Feb. 1 statement posted on social media after Grenell’s visit, Trump said that Venezuela had agreed to accept all Venezuelan illegal migrants detained in the United States, including alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang.

Trump added that the government was in the process of removing “record numbers” of illegal immigrants and that “all countries have agreed to accept these illegal aliens back.”

“Furthermore, record numbers of criminals are being removed from our Country, and the Border numbers are the strongest they have been since the First Term of the Trump Administration!” Trump wrote.

More than 7 million Venezuelans left their country in recent years as the economy began to collapse under Maduro’s leadership.

Maduro and several of his allies have been indicted by the United States on drug trafficking charges and the international community, along with the country’s opposition, say a July election which gave Maduro his third term was fraudulent.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.