2023-10-19 02:01:23
A plane from the United States landed at Caracas airport on Wednesday with 130 Venezuelan migrants expelled from the country on board in what is the first flight of this type following a recent agreement between the two governments.
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Several years ago, the United States stopped direct flights intended to expel immigrants to Venezuela, a country subject to sanctions from Washington, which did not recognize the re-election of President Nicolas Maduro in 2018.
But the two countries announced at the beginning of October that they had reached an agreement with a view to their resumption.
AFP
Handcuffed and handcuffed, at least 130 migrants, all isolated adults, were on the plane which landed shortly following 4:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. GMT) at Simon Bolivar International Airport in the Venezuelan capital.
“The mission in Venezuela was successfully completed,” US Immigration Enforcement (ICE) said in a message to reporters.
AFP
Until this agreement, Venezuelan migrants facing deportation from the United States were sent back to their country on commercial flights.
“Those who travel here range from those who have just entered our borders illegally to those who have been in the country for some time and who have committed criminal acts,” Corey Price, associate director of the ICE. More flights of this type are planned “in the days and weeks to come,” he noted.
AFP
President Joe Biden, candidate for re-election next year and whom the right accuses of weakness in matters of migration, announced on October 5 the resumption of these direct expulsions, specifying that Caracas had agreed to receive its nationals.
AFP
This resumption of direct expulsions targets Venezuelans who entered American territory following July 31. For those who were there before this date, Washington announced the granting of some 500,000 temporary residence permits.
According to the UN, more than seven million people have fled Venezuela since its economy collapsed. The country has seen its GDP contract by 80% in ten years.
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