When Deportation Flights Resume: Venezuela and the United States

President Nicolás Maduro suspended the flights on March 8, and after negotiations Venezuela agreed to resume accepting deportation flights from the United States. The pause followed the withdrawal of Chevron's export license and other tensions, and an agreement on March 23, 2025 allowed operations to restart. A plane with 199 people landed at Maiquetía International Airport on March 24, 2025, and other flights followed as repatriation was reestablished. Since January 20, 2025 deportations of Venezuelans have increased under the Trump administration, altering the usual flow of returns.

In March 2025 the United States removed 238 Venezuelans to El Salvador, where many were placed in a high-security prison. The U.S. used the Alien Enemies Act for some of those rapid deportations. The invocation of the law and the transfers prompted legal challenges and raised regional alarm about due process and the rights of the people involved.

Flights have been operated by U.S. contractors and by commercial carriers under government contracts, and some individual flights have carried as many as 379 people. Venezuela accepted return flights to recover citizens who had been detained in U.S. jails and at Guantánamo Bay. Some deportees had spent up to 16 days at Guantánamo Bay before being sent home. Legal appeals and court orders have affected some transfers, creating uneven timelines.

If flights continue at current rates, tens of thousands of people could be returned this year. The episode shows how immigration policy, diplomacy and security can intersect when deportations are prioritized. Reputable news outlets and official bulletins are expected to provide updates on numbers and legal outcomes.