Venezuelan Migrants Repatriated from Guantanamo Bay with Stopover in Honduras

Nearly 200 Venezuelan immigrants to the U.S. were returned to their home country after being detained at Guantanamo Bay, in a flurry of flights that forged an unprecedented pathway for U.S. deportations.

U.S. and Venezuelan authorities confirmed the deportations that relied on a stopover in Honduras, where 177 Venezuelans exited a U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement flight and boarded a Venezuelan plane bound for Caracas.

The government of President Nicolás Maduro said it had “requested the repatriation of a group” of Venezuelans “who were unjustly taken” to the U.S. naval base. With the request accepted, an aircraft with the state-owed airline Conviasa picked up the migrants from Honduras. ICE confirmed the transfer of 177 “Venezuelan illegal aliens.”

“Venezuela has historically resisted accepting repatriation of its citizens but has recently begun accepting removals following high-level political discussions and an investment of significant resources,” a court filing stated.

Last week, two Venezuelan flights carried 190 immigrants directly from the U.S. to Venezuela in a rare moment of coordination between the two countries that may be giving way to regular exchanges.

The government's decision to deport Venezuelans has sparked controversy, with some arguing that it is unfair and lacks due process.

“Some of them are so bad that we don’t even trust the countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back, so we’re gonna send ’em out to Guantanamo,” Trump said in January.