Venezuela receives more than 200 migrants deported from the US

The Venezuelan government announced the return of 201 Venezuelan migrants deported by the United States on a new repatriation flight.

The plane departed from the southern US state of Texas and landed at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, north of Caracas, on Saturday without making any stops, the Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace (MIJP) said.

The flight was carrying 159 men, 26 women and 16 children who were received by authorities after verification by immigration police, the ministry added on the Telegram messaging platform.

The ministry stressed that the flight took place as part of the 'Gran Misión Plan Vuelta a la Patria' (Great Mission Return to the Homeland) program, promoted by the government of President Nicolás Maduro to bring these citizens back to the country.

According to Venezuelan authorities, this was the third repatriation flight this week, after receiving 324 migrants deported from Mexico on Thursday after being prevented from entering the United States.

The Venezuelan state-owned airline Conviasa's flight was carrying 140 children, 101 women and 83 men, the MIJP said on Instagram.

According to local media, the Venezuelans crossed the Darién, the dangerous jungle that divides Colombia and Panama, having traveled through Central America and reached the northern border of Mexico, where they were stopped by US authorities.

On Wednesday, more than 200 Venezuelans were deported from the United States on another flight.

Washington and Caracas reached an agreement in late January to resume repatriation flights for Venezuelans deported from the United States, following a visit to Caracas by US President Donald Trump's special envoy to Caracas, Richard Grenell.

Since then, according to Venezuelan authorities, 42 repatriation flights have been carried out.

"It is worth noting that, to date, the 'Gran Misión Plan Vuelta a la Patria' has enabled the return of more than seven thousand Venezuelan men and women, who are returning to continue building a future with their families," the MIJ explained on Thursday.

On the same day, protesters took to the streets of Caracas to “demand the freedom” of 22 children who Venezuelan authorities say are being kidnapped by Donald Trump's government.

Venezuelans also called for the release of hundreds of Venezuelans who were deported from the US and sent to a high-security prison in El Salvador since March 15, “without the right to defense or due process.”

The Venezuelan government has condemned the persecution of migrants by the United States.

Nicolás Maduro defended Venezuelan migration as “economic, of decent, hard-working people” and criticized U.S. authorities for describing Venezuelan migrants as members of organized crime groups.