Over 170 Venezuelan migrants deported to Guantanamo have returned

Over 170 Venezuelan migrants deported to Guantanamo have returned

A plane carrying more than 170 Venezuelan migrants held at Guantanamo Bay after being deported from the United States landed in Venezuela on Thursday. According to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the 177 migrants were first flown to Honduras before being taken to Venezuela.

Repatriation of migrants

That flight appeared to nearly empty the Navy base of migrants sent there as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping migration lockdown policy. There are persistent ones Questions about legality the return of these migrants to the Cuban base notorious for holding prisoners as part of the US-led “war on terror”.

Accusations against Venezuelan migrants

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims that Venezuelan migrants sent to Guantanamo Bay have ties to the Tren de Aragua gang, a criminal network that originally originated in a Venezuelan prison.

Statement from the Venezuelan government

The Venezuelan government said in a statement that it had requested the repatriation of Venezuelan nationals who were "illegally taken to Guantanamo Naval Base." President Nicolás Maduro said the group that arrived Thursday were "not criminals, they are not bad people. They are people who emigrated as a result of [US] sanctions... In Venezuela we welcome them as a productive force with a loving embrace."

Legal dispute over protected status

Senior Trump administration officials have said Guantanamo Bay is reserved for the "worst of the worst," but newly filed court documents show not everyone sent to the facility is considered a "high threat." According to the new court statements, 127 people were considered high-level threats and were being held in the base's maximum-security prison, while 51 were considered low- to moderate-level threats and were being held at a migrant operations center. All come from Venezuela.

End of temporary protection status

On Wednesday, a group of Venezuelans protected from deportations under a humanitarian protection program filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the decision to revoke those protections. Earlier this month, DHS also ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which resulted in a series of measures to strengthen deportation policies for certain migrants.

Consequences for Venezuelan migrants

Security Secretary Kristi Noem decided against extending the TPS, reversing a decision by the Biden administration and putting around 600,000 people in an uncertain situation. Protection for about 350,000 Venezuelans will expire in April, putting them at risk of deportation. Around 250,000 Venezuelans are expected to lose their protected status in September.