US escalation with Maduro halts deportation flights to Venezuela
Recent U.S. military escalations involving Venezuela have halted flights carrying unlawful migrants from the United States back to the South American country, Venezuela’s foreign ministry said, prompting criticism from anti-intervention...
By Fox News · Fox News
Recent U.S. military escalations involving Venezuela have halted flights carrying unlawful migrants from the United States back to the South American country, Venezuela’s foreign ministry said, prompting criticism from anti-intervention voices. President Donald Trump warned pilots Saturday that the airspace "above and surrounding" Venezuela should be "closed in its entirety" as his administration weighs potential strikes on targets in and around Caracas. "Through this action, the United States government has unilaterally suspended the Venezuelan migrant flights that were being carried out regularly and weekly as part of the repatriation of Venezuelans through the Plan Vuelta a la Patria (Return to the Homeland Plan)," the ministry said in a statement. The deportation flights had been one of the only areas of cooperation between Washington and the government of Nicolás Maduro . Venezuelan officials say nearly 14,000 nationals have been returned on twice-weekly charter flights in recent months. VENEZUELA AGREES TO RESUME DEPORTATION FLIGHTS IN RESPONSE TO PRESSURE FROM TRUMP At the same time, the Trump administration has continued moving forward with plans to end temporary protected status for roughly 600,000 Venezuelans living in the United States. "Genius. Enough with this immigration enforcement nonsense. Let’s get back to True MAGA — neocon wars that exacerbate and cause migration crises. About darn time," said Curt Mills, executive editor of The American Conservative, criticizing the shift toward military action. So far, U.S. strikes have targeted alleged narco-traffickers operating in the Caribbean near Venezuela . But officials have signaled that operations could expand to land-based targets as Washington increases pressure on Maduro to relinquish power. VENEZUELA WILL FACE 'SEVERE, AND ESCALATING SANCTIONS' IF IT DOESN'T ACCEPT ITS CITIZENS, RUBIO SAYS Dozens of U.S. bombers have deployed to the region alongside the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS G…