US Resumes Deportation Flights to Venezuela After Deadly Earthquakes

The United States has resumed deportation flights to Venezuela, returning more than 100 Venezuelan migrants for the first time since devastating earthquakes struck the South American nation in late June.

The Trump administration had been deporting hundreds of Venezuelans each week before suspending the operation after two powerful earthquakes, both measuring above magnitude 7.0, killed more than 6,000 people and caused widespread destruction across the country.

The last deportation flight before the disaster carried 146 Venezuelans and landed just hours before the earthquakes. Reports indicated that several passengers on that flight later died when the hotel where they were being accommodated collapsed during the disaster.

According to reports, a flight carrying 147 Venezuelan migrants departed Miami on Monday and landed at General José Antonio Anzoátegui International Airport in Barcelona, Anzoátegui State.

Unlike previous repatriation flights that arrived at Simón Bolívar International Airport, which suffered significant damage in the earthquakes, Monday’s flight was redirected to the airport in Barcelona.

The US Department of Homeland Security had not commented on the resumed deportation flights at the time of filing this report.

Venezuela welcomes returnees

Reacting to the arrival of the migrants, Mervin Maldonado, head of Venezuela’s repatriation programme, welcomed the returnees, saying they would reunite with their families and contribute to rebuilding the country.

“They are returning home, to reunite with their families, to continue their education, to be productive, and to contribute to national development,” he said in a social media post.

Deportations and migration

Many Venezuelans fled their country in recent years due to prolonged economic hardship and political repression, undertaking dangerous journeys in search of better opportunities abroad.

The deportation programme intensified after the US Supreme Court last October allowed the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for about 300,000 Venezuelans who had been admitted under humanitarian protections.

According to ICE Flight Monitor, the United States deported 1,746 Venezuelans in May, a month before the earthquakes halted the repatriation programme.

Following the reported capture of President Nicolás Maduro during a military operation in January and the emergence of acting President Delcy Rodríguez, deportation flights were expanded under a migration agreement between Washington and Caracas.

Venezuelan authorities said Monday’s operation marked the 165th repatriation flight since early 2025, when both countries resumed deportation flights.

Meanwhile, Venezuela continues to grapple with the aftermath of the twin earthquakes as recovery and reconstruction efforts are expected to take several years.