Dozens of deported illegal migrants — including some suspected Tren de Aragua gangbangers — grinned and waved proudly as they landed in their native Venezuela early Monday after the South American country resumed accepting repatriation flights from the US.
Cheering migrants disembark flight in Caracas, Venezuela. REUTERSNearly 200 deportees were spotted disembarking from the jet soon after it touched down at an airport near Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, first thing Monday morning.
Footage of the arrival showed some migrants appearing to taunt the US by raising their hands in the air as they emerged from the plane — just days after the Trump administration deported scores of Venezuelans to El Salvador’s apocalyptic prisons.
A migrants happily walks off the plane. REUTERS
Venezuelans walk off a flight after being deported from the United States, in Caracas, Venezuela, March 24, 2025. REUTERS
Migrants leaving the flight. REUTERS
Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States smile from a plane window as they arrive at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela. APOthers were spotted making the sign of the cross as they safely touched back down in their homeland.
A Homeland Security source told NewsNation that some of the migrants onboard were members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang.
“Today, deportation flights of Venezuelan illegal aliens to their homeland resumed via Honduras,” the US Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said in a post on X.
Venezuelan migrants arrive on a flight after being deported from the United States, in Caracas, Venezuela, March 24, 2025. REUTERS“These individuals had no legal basis to remain in the United States.
“We expect to see a consistent flow of deportation flights to Venezuela going forward. Thank you to Honduran President Castro and her government for partnering to combat illegal immigration.”
It comes after Venezuela reached an agreement with the United States over the weekend to once again start accepting flights filled with its deported nationals amid the Trump administration’s migrant crackdown.
A man’s shirt reads in Spanish “We are free.” APVenezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had suspended flights back on March 8 after the US Treasury Department announced the withdrawal of Chevron’s license to export Venezuelan oil.
Venezuela accepted the deal to guarantee the “the return of our compatriots to their nation with the safeguard of their Human Rights,” according to Maduro’s chief negotiator, Jorge Rodríguez.
Smiling Venezuelan migrant following his arrival. REUTERS
Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States and stranded in Honduras disembark from a Conviasa Airlines plane upon arrival at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela on March 24, 2025. AFP via Getty Images“Migrating is not a crime and we will not rest until we achieve the return of all those who require it and until we rescue our brothers kidnapped in El Salvador,” Rodríguez said, referring to the earlier deportation of hundreds Venezuelans to a high-security prison in El Salvador, about 1,600 miles away.
Separately, President Trump announced Monday that all countries that purchase oil or gas from Venezuela would be subjected to a 25% tariff on all trade with the US — marking one of the harshest economic crackdowns on the dictator regime yet.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said Venezuela had been “very hostile” towards the United States and that countries purchasing oil from it will be forced to pay the tariff on all their trade to the US starting from April 2.
Venezuela will face a “secondary” tariff because it is home to the infamous Tren de Aragua gang, Trump added.
With Post wires
