Ecuador Begins Deportation Proceedings Against Four Venezuelan Delivery Workers Over Security Concerns

Ecuador has begun deportation proceedings against four Venezuelan delivery workers after a social-media video showed them discussing a newly approved law regulating the sector.

The men appear in the video laughing as they refer to the legislation. One says, "If they deport me, I’ll come back and keep working as a delivery driver." Interior Minister John Reimberg shared the video on X on Sunday, followed by another showing the four men with migration police. That video carries Reimberg’s warning that "nobody is above the law" and ends with the word "Deported."

A source at Ecuador’s Interior Ministry told EFE that the deportation process concerns an alleged "threat or risk to security." The source added that two of the men had not entered the country through an authorized crossing, while another had not regularized his status since 2018. The men had public and private lawyers and attended a hearing, the source said. They are due to travel to Venezuela on a flight Tuesday.

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If they deport me, I’ll come back and keep working as a delivery driver.

The ministry said the men are not detained or held. They are at Guayaquil airport in the inadmissible-passengers area while the deportation is carried out, with their immigration status already resolved. Authorities said they remain under supervision and have been provided with food.

The National Assembly approved reforms last Thursday covering land transport, traffic and road safety. The measures include rules for delivery services and micromobility vehicles such as scooters. They would create a mandatory national register for delivery workers, assign responsibilities to digital platforms and establish safety standards. The legislation still requires President Daniel Noboa to approve or object to it before publication in the Official Gazette.

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Nobody is above the law.