Venezuela Refuses Entry To Flight Carrying Deportees: Chilean Authorities

Chilean Deputy Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve said Thursday that Venezuelan authorities refused entry to their own citizens deported from Chile.

Monsalve said Chile had already chartered a plane for Venezuelans to return to their home country, "but a single decision by the Venezuelan aeronautical authority ruined everything," Reuters reported.

"They said, 'No, I do not authorize the flight to Venezuela," Monsalve revealed.

Monsalve did not mention how many Venezuelans were deported, but noted that according to Chilean law, if deportation doesn't happen within five days, then they have to release those Venezuelans.

Minister of the Interior and Public Security of Chile, Carolina Tohá, also shed light on the event, noting the flight was ready to depart from Santiago, the capital of Chile, but the landing was denied by the Venezuelan government.

Tohá said a Boeing 737 leased from Estelar was supposed to take off from Arturo Merino Benitez airport on Friday morning and land at Maiquetía airport in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.

"The State of Chile has made tremendous efforts to allow the deportation process to go forward... and unfortunately, this flight that was arriving today and departing tomorrow to Venezuela, was not authorized," the minister said, Aviacionline reported.

However, the minister is hopeful that Chile will make continuous efforts to solve the problem at the highest diplomatic level as soon as possible, noting that this is something the country will not give up on.

"There is an agreement that we have and it is important that it is fulfilled: if there is a difficulty, it should be resolved. There are two laws approved, there are resource supplements, and there are agreements that have been reached with Venezuela to facilitate the deportation processes."

Venezuela's officials are yet to make any comment on this matter.

Many Venezuelan citizens left their country due to economic and political crises. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at least 7.7 million Venezuelans in total have left the country for a better life, with around 444,000 settling in Chile.

Last month, the U.S. resumed its deportation flights of Venezuelans from Texas, dropping roughly 130 passengers to Caracas.