US deports Venezuelans for 1st time after deadly June earthquakes

The US resumed deportation flights to Venezuela on Monday, returning more than 100 migrants for the first time since devastating earthquakes struck the country in late June, according to CNN on Tuesday.

Before the disaster, the administration of US President Donald Trump had been deporting hundreds of Venezuelans each week. The flights stopped after two powerful earthquakes killed more than 6,000 people and caused widespread destruction.

The last deportation flight hours before the disaster carried 146 people, many of whom later died when the hotel where they were staying collapsed.

On Monday, a flight carrying 147 Venezuelan migrants departed Miami and landed in the northeastern state of Anzoategui.

The aircraft arrived at General Jose Antonio Anzoategui International Airport in Barcelona city, after the country's main Simon Bolivar International Airport suffered significant earthquake damage.

Welcoming the arrivals, Mervin Maldonado, who oversees Venezuela's repatriation program, said they are "returning home, to reunite with their families, to continue their education, to be productive, and to contribute to national development."

Many Venezuelans fled economic hardship and political repression by making dangerous journeys to the US.

However, after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for 300,000 Venezuelans last October, deportations increased. ICE Flight Monitor recorded 1,746 deportations in May alone, before the earthquakes.

Following the Trump administration's capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January, deportation flights expanded under acting President Delcy Rodriguez.

Venezuelan officials said Monday's flight was the 165th since deportations resumed in early 2025 under a migration agreement between Caracas and Washington.