FLIGHT

For decades Venezuelans face severe shortages of food, medicine, and electricity, disease, hyperinflation, and high crime. Since 2021 about 8 million Venezuelans have fled the country, primarily to Columbia and Latin America, but also to the US. At first, they were granted Temporary Protected Status in the US, but that ended in 2025. The White House has revoked the TPS for most Venezuelans.

Now, instead of protection, Venezuelan migrants face deportation. Trump used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, (a wartime act, enabled the US to deport and detain Japanese, Germans, and Italian without due process) to deport hundreds of Venezuelans. The White House invoked this Act to deport Venezuelans and others back to authoritarian states, despite Judge Boasberg’s order to cease deportation. Trump claimed that Venezuela and the US were at war because the Tren de Aragua gang of Venezuela was invading the US. However, there is no specific evidence linking the deported individuals to the gang. In fact, the deportations were part of a 6 million deal between the Trump administration and El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, who accepted detainees into their Terrorism Confinement Center mega prison.

More deportation flights ensued sending Venezuelan migrants back to their homeland. However, repatriation flights to Venezuela have been stalled over the Trump’s decision in February to revoke a license allowing American oil company Chevron to produce and export oil. The US had been Venezuela’s top crude oil buyer. Now, China is.

The US is escalating military pressure against Venezuela, officially as a fight against drug trafficking by Maduro. Venezuela, however, accuses the US of false drug-related claims as a pretext for removing Maduro.