U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio again threatened to impose additional sanctions on Venezuela "if the country does not accept its citizens repatriated from the United States," he posted on his social media account.
"Venezuela is obligated to accept its citizens repatriated from the United States. This is not a matter for debate or negotiation. Nor does it deserve any reward. Unless Maduro accepts a steady stream of deportation flights, without further excuses or delays, the United States will impose new and escalating sanctions," the message reads.
However, the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro has reiterated his willingness to activate the Return to the Homeland plan. to return all compatriots to the country. Even yesterday, during his weekly program Con Maduro +, he announced for this Saturday the arrival of the Plan Vuelta a la Patria flight that had been suspended last week due to weather reasons, which had even been announced by Richard Grenell, special envoy of US President Donald Trump.
Maduro also assured that the Venezuelan government will not rest until it returns all of its "compatriots," he stated.
For his part, the head of Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, assured that the Trump administration has recognized that it may have made mistakes in the deportation of Venezuelans accusing them of belonging to the defunct Tren de Aragua organization.
Following President Trump's return to the White House, the governments of both nations have held talks on various topics of interest, including immigration.
Venezuela was emphatic that any transfer of its citizens must be carried out with absolute respect for their dignity and human rights, the national government stated in a statement at the time.
Last February, the national government announced the resumption of the Return to the Homeland Plan with two flights to the US for the return of Venezuelans, the first arriving on the 10th with 190 people and the second on the 20th with 177. Third group of 242 compatriots arrived on the 24th from Mexico, including 94 men, 75 young people and 74 women.
The Return to the Homeland Plan is an initiative created in 2018 by the national government with the goal of repatriating, free of charge, those nationals who wish to return to the country from different parts of the world, having been forced to migrate as a result of illegal coercive measures and psychological warfare campaigns against the nation.
Narcos Rubio, you seem to have irritated me. It's NOT that you were affected by the 5 tons of illegal substances that our security forces seized in Venezuelan maritime territory.