Despite rapidly deteriorating diplomatic relations, the United States and Venezuelan governments have established an operational channel for migrant repatriation flights. Venezuela’s Transport Ministry officially confirmed receiving and approving a U.S. request to authorize Eastern Airlines to continue operating repatriation flights between Phoenix, Arizona, and Maiquetía International Airport.
These regularly scheduled Wednesday and Friday flights operate under Venezuela’s ‘Plan Vuelta a la Patria’ (Return to the Homeland Program), which facilitates the voluntary return and family reunification of Venezuelan citizens abroad. The program represents a rare point of cooperation between the two nations currently experiencing significant geopolitical friction.
The coordination occurs against a backdrop of intensified hostilities. Recent weeks have seen U.S. President Donald Trump escalate military operations in Caribbean and Pacific waters, with reports indicating at least 21 vessels struck since September. Simultaneously, Trump has designated Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro a ‘narco-terrorist’ and announced the closure of Venezuelan airspace to U.S. flights—measures Caracas has condemned as ‘colonialist threats’ and violations of international law.
This creates a complex diplomatic paradox: operational cooperation on humanitarian migration matters persists even as both governments exchange increasingly confrontational rhetoric and military posturing.