US deports Venezuelans for the first time since deadly earthquakes in June

The United States has resumed deporting Venezuelan migrants, sending back over 100 individuals on Monday in the first repatriation flight since a series of powerful earthquakes ravaged Venezuela in late June. This marks a significant shift after a temporary halt in deportations that followed the natural disaster.

Before the earthquakes, the Trump administration had been deporting hundreds of Venezuelans each week. However, the back-to-back over magnitude 7 quakes, which claimed over 6,000 lives and devastated large parts of the country, brought this operation to a standstill. The last flight carrying 146 Venezuelans had landed just hours before the disaster struck, with some of those passengers later perishing when their temporary housing collapsed.

Monday's flight, carrying 147 migrants, landed in Venezuela's Anzoátegui state. Mervin Maldonado, who heads the repatriation program for Venezuela, welcomed the returnees, stating they are "returning home, to reunite with their families, to continue their education, to be productive, and to contribute to national development." Many Venezuelans have undertaken perilous journeys to reach the U.S., fleeing severe economic hardship and political repression in their homeland.

The resumption of deportations follows the Supreme Court's decision last October to allow the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 300,000 Venezuelan migrants. Since then, deportations had been on the rise, with 1,746 Venezuelans deported in May alone, according to ICE Flight Monitor. The flights were further intensified after the U.S. seized President Nicolás Maduro in January. This latest flight is reportedly the 165th since early 2025, as part of a migration agreement between Caracas and Washington. Venezuela is now facing a lengthy recovery from the quakes, which have caused an economic blow equivalent to 6% of its GDP, according to the UN Development Programme.

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returning home, to reunite with their families, to continue their education, to be productive, and to contribute to national development.