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Venezuela will continue accepting deportation flights from the U.S. at the request of President Donald Trump’s administration, the country announced Tuesday.
Trump threatened to declare the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela to be “closed in its entirety,” causing Venezuela to cancel the twice-weekly flights of migrants from the U.S. on Saturday. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced on Tuesday that, at the request of the Trump administration, those flights have now resumed.
Immigrants arrive regularly at the airport outside the capital of Caracas on flights operated by a U.S. government contractor or Venezuela’s state-owned airline. More than 13,000 immigrants have returned so far this year on the chartered flights, the latest of which arrived Friday.
Venezuela previously had a longstanding policy of not accepting deportation flights from the U.S. but Maduro’s regime conceded under pressure from Trump earlier this year. The deportation flights are one of the few areas of cooperation between the U.S. and Venezuela as tension between the countries grows.
US ESCALATION WITH MADURO HALTS DEPORTATION FLIGHTS TO VENEZUELA
U.S. strikes have targeted alleged narco-traffickers operating in the Caribbean near Venezuela. Trump has signaled that operations could expand to land-based targets as Washington increases pressure on Maduro to relinquish power.
“You know, the land is much easier, much easier. And we know the routes they take,” Trump told reporters during a Cabinet at the White House. “We know everything about them. We know where they live. We know where the bad ones live. And we’re going to start that very soon too.”
VENEZUELA WILL FACE ‘SEVERE, AND ESCALATING SANCTIONS’ IF IT DOESN’T ACCEPT ITS CITIZENS, RUBIO SAYS
Dozens of U.S. bombers have deployed to the region alongside the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, underscoring the scale of the buildup. With U.S. bombers and the Ford already positioned in the region, much of the world is waiting to see whether Trump will green-light the next phase of strikes against Venezuelan targets.
Trump presented Maduro with an ultimatum during a recent phone call, demanding that he step down or face potential U.S. military action. Maduro sought global amnesty for himself, demanded to retain control of the military and resisted an immediate exit from power, the Miami Herald reported.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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