MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Venezuela approves migrant repatriation flight from US despite Trump’s airspace closure claim

Venezuela has regularly accepted repatriation flights in recent months, even as the US military has carried out strikes on small boats in the Caribbean, claiming they were involved in drug trafficking

The Venezuelan government announced on Tuesday that it had approved a US request to operate a migrant repatriation flight, just days after President Donald Trump declared that Venezuelan airspace was “closed in its entirety.” The move, reported by The New York Times, highlights that communication between Washington and Caracas remains active despite escalating tensions over Trump’s military campaign against President Nicolás Maduro.

“The Aeronautic Authority of Venezuela has received a request from the government of the United States to restart migrant repatriation flights from that country to Venezuela,” the Venezuelan Ministry of Transportation said in a statement.

Venezuela has regularly accepted repatriation flights in recent months, even as the US military has carried out strikes on small boats in the Caribbean, claiming they were involved in drug trafficking. At least 83 people have been killed in 21 such attacks in the Caribbean and Pacific since September, according to official data.

The legality of these strikes has come under increasing scrutiny. Several lawmakers from both US parties have warned that one operation — in which two survivors were reportedly targeted in a follow-up strike — could constitute a war crime. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces mounting pressure, with international law experts calling the attacks unlawful under humanitarian law.

Amid the controversy, Trump has alternated between threats of force and diplomatic overtures toward Maduro. The two leaders spoke by phone last month and discussed the possibility of meeting in person. Analysts describe the repatriation flights as “a rare example of cooperation” between the two governments.

Venezuela says nearly 14,000 migrants have been returned from the US this year through such flights. The next repatriation flight is expected to depart from Phoenix and arrive in Caracas on Wednesday or Thursday, according to Venezuelan officials.

The United States has no legal authority to close another nation’s airspace, and Caracas has called Trump’s declaration a “colonialist threat.” Still, the approval of this flight suggests that — despite the rhetoric of confrontation — diplomatic channels between both governments remain open.