Two planes from Venezuela flew to the United States on Monday and returned with deported Venezuelans. This demonstrates improved relations between the two countries, which have been diplomatic rivals for a long time. It is also seen as a success for President Donald Trump in convincing more countries to take back their citizens.

Both the US and Venezuelan governments confirmed that Venezuelan airline Conviasa operated flights. However, they did not reveal the number of passengers or the flight routes. The White House announced in a statement on the X platform that flights of illegal aliens to Venezuela have resumed. It said that Richard Grennell, a senior Trump adviser who recently visited Venezuela, was in charge of the flights. The Venezuelan government confirmed the flights and rejected claims about the presence of Tren de Aragua gang members in the US, calling them false and misleading. It stated that most Venezuelan immigrants are honest, hardworking individuals and accused US officials of trying to give Venezuela a bad image.

Under the Biden administration, deportation flights from the United States to Venezuela were temporarily resumed in October 2023 when a plane brought roughly 130 migrants home after being suspended for years. In 2021, Venezuelans started to arrive in significant numbers at the US border with Mexico, and they are today among the most common countries entering the country illegally. The planes on Monday were the first to transport immigrants to a US military installation in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the first since US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached agreements with Guatemala and El Salvador to allow those nations to accept non-citizens.

A federal judge in New Mexico stopped the transfer of three Venezuelan men to Guantanamo Bay on Sunday. The men's lawyers had requested a temporary halt, arguing that their clients matched the profile of those the administration is focusing on for Guantanamo detention—Venezuelan men arrested in the El Paso area, falsely accused of having ties to the Tren de Aragua gang.

The Maduro government agreed to take up "all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the US, including gang members of Tren de Aragua," and pay for their transportation, according to a letter written by Trump following Grennell's visit. At that time, six Americans detained in Venezuela were freed. On Monday, the Venezuelan government made a statement but did not mention anything about future flights.