CARACAS – A U.S. deportation flight carrying 266 Venezuelan nationals landed on Wednesday at Maiquetía International Airport, despite escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Venezuela. The arrival was confirmed by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil.
The aircraft, operated by Eastern Air Lines, departed from Phoenix and touched down in Caracas as part of an ongoing repatriation program. The flights had been briefly paused after Washington issued warnings to avoid Venezuelan airspace and President Donald Trump declared that the airspace above Venezuela should be considered “closed.”
Those warnings created uncertainty and temporarily halted deportation operations.
According to Venezuela’s Ministry of Transport, U.S. authorities submitted a formal request on Tuesday to resume the flights. Permission was subsequently granted, clearing the way for Wednesday’s landing.
Spanish media report that since February the repatriation program has operated two flights per week, typically carrying around 200 deported migrants per flight. Sources indicate that the next aircraft is expected to arrive this Friday.
Foreign Minister Gil stated that a total of 18,354 Venezuelans have been returned this year on 95 flights, of which 76 originated directly from the United States.
The continuation of these flights underscores how migration cooperation persists even as military and political tensions rise between Washington and Caracas — a situation being watched closely across the Caribbean, especially on the nearby ABC islands.