First Flights With Deportees Of Trump Admin Arrives In Venezuela, Maduro Calls It a 'Favorable Step' In Relations

Two deportation flights landed in Venezuela on Monday night, the first such occasion in the Trump administration as it pushes through with its immigration crackdown.

The South American country's authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro, called the development a "favorable and positive step" in the bilateral relations, claiming he is seeking to "build relations of respect, communication and understanding" with the Trump administration.

"The first flight of Venezuela's flagship airline, Conviasa, just landed to bring in a safely, loving, appropriate, dignified, the first group of Venezuelan returnees," Maduro added.

The White House, in turn, posted in X an image of Venezuelans boarding the plane in shackles. "MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN," the publication added.

The flights took place after Trump's envoy for special operations, Richard Grenell, visited Venezuela on January 31 despite not recognizing Maduro as the country's legitimate president. The meeting also yielded the release of six American citizens who were being held in the country. It was not clear what Caracas got in exchange, if anything.

AFP reported that the flight included individuals suspected to have ties with Venezuelan-born gang Tren de Aragua who will be investigated. Many deportees didn't have laces in their shoes, a regular practice in such flights.

The country's willingness to take deportees boosts the Trump administration's deportation operation, as one of its main challenges lies with countries rejecting them. The Washington Post reported earlier this year that in late January there were there 22,749 deportable Venezuelans in the U.S., but the country had only accepted 5,862 people over the past 20 years.

However, hundreds of thousands more are set to be at risk of deportation as of April, as the Trump administration has also revoked Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for many nationals of the country, a decision that has been met with confusion, fear and outrage, according to a new report by The Washington Post.

"Today, I feel the same way I felt in Venezuela— that they're going to come take me somewhere I won't be able to escape from," Ronald Bellorin, a Venezuelan who fled during the first Trump administration in hopes the Republican leader would protect him and his family, told the outlet. "It's terrible to feel this way here in the United States.

"I thought we would be safe here," he added as he teared up recounting his family's story.

Some elected officials in the area have already been pleading with Trump to go back on the decision. Among them is U.S. Rep Mario Diaz-Balart. "I respectfully request, within all applicable rules and regulations, that you assess all options available to ensure that Venezuelan nationals without criminal records are not forcibly returned to one of the most repressive dictatorships in the world," the Miami Republican wrote.

Diaz-Balart isn't the first Florida Republican to break from the Trump administration on this decision. In fact, he has partnered with Republican colleagues Rep. Carlos Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar to advocate for the program or for a review of the beneficiaries on a case-by-case basis.

However, not all Republicans in the state have the same assessment of Trump's decision. Florida Sen. Rick Scott defended it last week, saying it's a result of former President Biden's "abuse" of the program.