Venezuela refuses to accept its citizens deported from US, Mexico: Report

Venezuela is reportedly refusing to accept its citizens who have been deported from the U.S. and Mexico, further forcing illegal immigration as a key issue in the 2024 presidential race.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro introduced the ban after D.C. reimposed some economic sanctions it had previously lifted on the Central American country, according to a report last week in The Wall Street Journal.

About 13% of all U.S. Customs and Border Protection encounters this fiscal year have been with Venezuelan nationals for a total of more than 160,000 encounters, per government data. That number is likely higher as CBP has yet to release data for the month of February.

Fewer than 2,000 Venezuelan migrants have returned to their home country over the past four months, according to NewsNation. Venezuela has rejected all U.S. deportation flights over the past four weeks due to American sanctions on state-owned mining companies. The U.S. had lifted those sanctions after Maduro promised free and fair elections, which have not been held.

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