Venezuela has agreed to resume accepting U.S. deportation flights following a suspension triggered by U.S. sanctions on Chevron. The agreement comes amid intense legal and political fallout over the Trump administration's deportation of 238 Venezuelan migrants to a high-security prison in El Salvador under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. While the first flight of 199 migrants returned to Caracas on March 23, 2025, a federal appeals court remains divided on whether to force the U.S. to return those sent to El Salvador.
Resumption of direct repatriation flights
- ▪Venezuela agreed to resume accepting repatriation flights of its deported nationals from the United States starting on March 23, 2025.
- ▪Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro suspended repatriation flights from the United States on March 8, 2025, after the U.S. Treasury Department withdrew Chevron's license to export Venezuelan oil.
- ▪The first resumed repatriation flight carrying 199 Venezuelan nationals, including alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang, arrived in Venezuela on March 23, 2025.
Deportation of Venezuelans to El Salvador
- ▪The United States deported 238 Venezuelan men to a high-security prison in El Salvador over the weekend of March 15-16, 2025.
- ▪President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 on March 15, 2025, to deport 137 of the 238 Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador as "enemy aliens."
- ▪The Trump administration did not provide evidence that the 238 Venezuelan nationals deported to El Salvador are members of the Tren de Aragua gang or committed crimes in the United States.
Legal challenges to El Salvador deportations
- ▪A panel of federal appeals court judges appeared divided on September 25, 2026, over whether to uphold an order requiring the Trump administration to facilitate the return of the 238 deported Venezuelan migrants from El Salvador
- ▪A federal judge previously issued an order temporarily barring the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, but the deportation flights were already in the air when the ruling was handed down
Demands on El Salvador
- ▪Jorge Rodríguez stated on March 22, 2025, that Venezuela would not rest until it rescues Venezuela's compatriots whom he described as kidnapped in El Salvador
- ▪Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated that El Salvador President Nayib Bukele is responsible for the health and well-being of the deported Venezuelans held in El Salvador.
Debatable claims
- ▪Deporting migrants to high-security prisons in third countries is acceptable
- ▪The U.S. should facilitate the return of the Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador
- ▪Invoking the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants is justified
- ▪Deporting suspected gang members without public evidence is justified
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