The State Department on Thursday accused the Maduro regime in Venezuela of "continuing to lie" about repatriation flights, demanding the country "schedule consistent" flights to bring back Venezuelans ordered for deportation from the U.S.
Shortly after the post from the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Venezuelan interior minister Diosdado Cabello announced that 311 Venezuelan nationals had landed from Mexico.
In a post to X, however, the bureau said, "Nicolas Maduro and his cronies continue to lie."
"Despite media reports, repatriation flights to Venezuela via Mexico are not taking place today. Maduro must stop misleading and schedule consistent, weekly, repatriation flights. Our Venezuela Affairs Unit awaits his response," read the post.
The post is the latest salvo between the Trump administration and the Maduro regime. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned earlier this week that Venezuela will face "new and escalating" sanctions if it refuses to take back the roughly 350,000 Venezuelans who were in the U.S. under a Biden-era policy of temporary protected status, ended by President Donald Trump.
"Venezuela is obligated to accept its repatriated citizens from the U.S. This is not an issue for debate or negotiation. Nor does it merit any reward. Unless the Maduro regime accepts a consistent flow of deportation flights, without further excuses or delays, the U.S. will impose new, severe, and escalating sanctions," Rubio said in a post to X on Tuesday.
Rubio's warning came days after Ric Grenell, Trump's envoy for special missions, announced "that Venezuela has agreed to resume flights to pick up their citizens who broke U.S. Immigration Laws and entered the U.S. illegally," adding flights would resume March 14.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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