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A United States aircraft carrying 172 Venezuelan migrants who had been living in the country illegally touched down in Caracas on Friday, marking the second repatriation flight this week since Venezuela allowed deportation planes to land once again.
The flight, which departed from Phoenix, Arizona, arrived despite President Donald Trump recently declaring Venezuela’s airspace to be closed, following heightened political and military tensions between Washington and Caracas.
This latest return forms part of a broader US campaign against alleged drug trafficking networks that American officials claim are linked to Venezuela’s left-wing government.
As part of that strategy, Washington has significantly strengthened its military presence in the Caribbean, including the deployment of its largest aircraft carrier.
US forces are reported to have carried out more than 20 military operations across the Caribbean and Pacific regions in recent months, leaving at least 87 people dead.
However, US authorities have not disclosed evidence to publicly connect those strikes to narcotics trafficking activity.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused Washington of using drug enforcement as a pretext to attempt to topple his administration and gain access to the country’s vast oil reserves.
In late November, the US Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines to exercise extreme caution when operating in Venezuelan airspace, prompting most international carriers to suspend services to the country.
Shortly afterwards, Trump said Venezuela’s airspace should be treated as effectively closed.
Despite this, the Caracas-bound aircraft carried a mixed group of deportees, including five children, 26 women and 141 men, according to Venezuelan officials.
Government figures said the arrival brought the total number of Venezuelans returned under the state’s “return to the homeland” programme to 18,260, more than 14,000 of whom were repatriated from the United States.
