The Daily Journal.— The United States resumed deportation flights for Venezuelan migrants on Monday after suspending the program following the June 24 earthquakes.
According to official information released by the government repatriation program, Flight No. 165 transported 147 Venezuelans, including 132 men and 15 women.
Authorities from the national and regional governments received the deportees upon their arrival from Miami, Florida, at General José Antonio Anzoátegui International Airport in the city of Barcelona, eastern Venezuela.
Mervin Maldonado, head of the repatriation mission, confirmed the group’s arrival.
“Today, in Barcelona, Anzoátegui, we received Flight No. 165 of the Great Mission Return to the Homeland from the United States. Another 147 Venezuelans have returned home to reunite with their families, continue their education, become productive, and contribute to the country’s development.”
Maldonado said he carried out the operation alongside Major General Alexis Rodríguez Cabello, Anzoátegui Governor Luis Marcano, and Simón Bolívar Municipality Mayor Sugey Herrera.
The tragedy of flight 164
No deportation flights carrying Venezuelan migrants had arrived since June 24.
On that day, Flight No. 164 landed at Maiquetía Airport in La Guaira after departing from Miami with 146 Venezuelans on board: 120 men, 19 women, five boys, and two girls.
Just hours later, many of those passengers found themselves caught in the worst natural disaster in Venezuela’s recent history.
Authorities transferred the deportees from the airport under the custody of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) to the Santuario La Llanada Hotel in La Guaira state.
The building did not operate as a conventional tourist hotel. For decades, it housed San Benito School. Later, authorities used the facility to assist people experiencing homelessness. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it served as an isolation center for travelers who arrived at Maiquetía Airport with the virus.
After Washington and Caracas resumed their deportation agreement, the complex became the first destination for Venezuelans returning from the United States.
The passengers from Flight 164 stayed there when the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck north-central Venezuela. More than a month after the disaster, Delcy Rodríguez’s administration has not released an official list of those who died, survived, or remain missing.
