CARACAS (Reuters) – Some 311 Venezuelan nationals who were returned from Mexico have landed on a flight by state-owned airline Conviasa in Caracas, interior minister Diosdado Cabello said on Thursday, bringing the total of migrants recently returned to 920.
Minutes earlier, the U.S. government on social media accused Venezuelan officials of lying that repatriation flights via Mexico were taking place that day. Diosdado told local television the flight was the result of a “direct agreement with the Mexican government,” without giving more details.
The United States last weekend deported over 200 alleged members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador, where they are being held in a mega-prison despite criticism over the legality of the process.
(Reporting by Vivian Sequera in Caracas; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez)
