Nearly 200 Venezuelan migrants return home after stay at Guantánamo Bay

• Nearly 200 Venezuelan migrants deported by the Trump administration returned to their home country on Thursday, Feb. 20. Venezuela sent a plane to Honduras to transfer the migrants home after the U.S. flew them to the Central American country from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
• The Department of Homeland Security said dozens of these migrants have ties to the gang known as Tren de Aragua. However, Venezuela’s president disputed that they were criminals.
• The Trump administration could deport hundreds of thousands of additional Venezuelan migrants later this year as their Temporary Protected Status in the U.S. expires.

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Nearly 200 Venezuelan migrants deported by the Trump administration returned to their home country on Thursday, Feb. 20, after spending time at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. Venezuela sent a plane to Honduras to transfer the migrants home after the U.S. flew them to the Central American country.

What’s the history of Guantánamo Bay?

The Trump administration sent hundreds of migrants to the naval base in Cuba as part of the crackdown on illegal immigration in the U.S. The base has housed suspected terrorists, dating back to the war on terror that began in 2001 after the Al-Qaeda terror attack on 9/11.

What is the specific dispute surrounding this group of deportees?

The Department of Homeland Security and Venezuela’s president have disagreed on the criminal implications of the 177 migrants. DHS said dozens have ties to the Tren de Aragua gang, the criminal network that began in Venezuelan prisons.

The agency also said of the 177 deportees, 126 migrants had criminal charges or convictions. About 80 migrants had known ties to the gang while 51 had no criminal charges.

The Trump administration had previously said that Guantánamo Bay would house the worst of the worst.

However, President Nicholas Maduro claimed the Trump administration unjustly targeted this particular group. He said the migrants weren’t criminals or bad people.

Maduro contended they emigrated for economic reasons.

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How many Venezuelan migrants could face deportation in US?

Last week, two Venezuelan flights carrying 190 immigrants flew directly from the U.S. to Venezuela.

The Trump administration estimated it could deport another 600,000 migrants by September when their Temporary Protected Status expires.