Venezuela agreed to receive its deported citizens - Trump
Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Venezuela has "agreed to receive" its citizens deported from the United States. The country will provide transportation back, CNN reports.
“Venezuela has agreed to receive, back into their Country, all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of Tren de Aragua. Venezuela has further agreed to supply the transportation back,” Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social.
The changes came after the US President's special envoy at large, Richard Grenell, met with President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on Friday. CNN writes that the meeting was noteworthy given that Washington does not officially recognize the presidency of Maduro, who has been accused by opposition leaders in Venezuela of stealing the 2024 election.
In particular, opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, who is recognized by the United States as the elected president of Venezuela and attended Trump's inauguration, warned the White House against concluding an agreement with Maduro on deportation flights.
The source also added that Venezuela had only briefly accepted repatriation flights under former US President Joe Biden before they were reversed. Trump prioritized his campaign promise of mass deportations, but President Maduro had previously refused to accept Venezuelan citizens, making it impossible for the US to send Venezuelans back due to cold relations.
