192 Venezuelans flown back from US amid worsening diplomatic row

As tensions between the US and Venezuela grow, 192 deported Venezuelans arrived in Caracas, leading to a strong government response and a travel warning

Caracas: A flight carrying 192 Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrived at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, which serves the capital Caracas area the Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace of Venezuela reported.

According to a press release on Friday, the flight, operated by a US-registered aircraft, carried 156 men, 26 women, and 10 minors. The returned migrants were attended to under established medical, legal, and social protocols.

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Since February, Venezuela has been receiving two to three flights per week of individuals deported by US authorities, including those relocated from Mexico and Honduras, reports Xinhua news agency.

So far in 2025, a total of 5,475 deported migrants have been processed under the government’s Plan Vuelta a la Patria, designed to facilitate their return, official figures indicate.

Earlier on Thursday, the South American country said that the United States government is carrying out a new campaign of “stigmatisation and criminalisation” against Venezuelans.

The “stigmatisation” campaign is evident in a “new attack that restricts the issuance and validity of visas for Venezuelan citizens, without any justification and with obvious political purposes,” Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

“This operation has been promoted by the current Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, an official marked by his well-known hatred of the Venezuelan people,” the ministry added. Venezuela’s government reiterated its “unwavering commitment to defending the rights and interests of Venezuelans in any part of the world.”

The ministry also ratified a maximum travel alert for citizens planning to travel to the United States or residing in the United States.
“What happened is not an isolated incident, but rather a new demonstration of the visceral hatred for the Venezuelan people that drives those who currently conduct Washington’s foreign policy,” it added.

The US government announced it was restricting visas to nationals from several countries, including Venezuela.