The Trump administration has resumed deportation flights carrying returning Venezuelan illegal immigrants back to their country of origin. Venezuela consented to the resumption of deportation flights over the weekend, according to the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.
“Today, deportation flights of Venezuelan illegal aliens to their homeland resumed via Honduras. These individuals had no legal basis to remain in the United States,” the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday. “We expect to see a consistent flow of deportation flights to Venezuela going forward. Thank you to Honduran President [Xiomara] Castro and her government for partnering to combat illegal immigration.”
At least one flight operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carrying Venezuelan nationals who illegally immigrated to the U.S. landed at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras on Sunday. The U.S. has previously used this location as a transfer point for deportees. Simultaneously, a flight from the Venezuelan national airline, Conviasa, was also expected at Soto Cano. This suggested a coordinated transfer effort between the two countries.
Honduras’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Enrique Reina, confirmed on social media that Honduras is cooperating with both the U.S. and Venezuela in this effort. He stated that 199 Venezuelan nationals were transferred from a U.S.-flagged aircraft to a Venezuelan one at the base. Meanwhile, the President of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, also publicly confirmed the agreement with the U.S. government to resume the repatriation process.
