By Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Venezuela has agreed to receive all Venezuelan illegal migrants captured in the United States and pay for their transport.
“Venezuela has agreed to receive, back into their country, all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of Tren de Aragua,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
He said Venezuela has also agreed to provide transportation.
The Venezuelan government did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
U.S. envoy Richard Grenell met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in the South American country on Friday. Hours after their meeting, six American hostages were released and returned to the United States from Venezuela.
The announcement of Venezuela’s decision to accept the return of its citizens who were illegally in the United States comes one week after Trump threatened to impose tariffs and sanctions after Colombia refused to accept military flights carrying deportees. Colombia reversed its course and agreed to accept migrants following the threats.
“We are in the process of removing record numbers of illegal aliens from all countries,” said Trump, who vowed to crack down on illegal immigration in his 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump, a Republican, issued an array of executive orders to crack down on illegal immigration after taking office on Jan. 20, including actions aimed at deporting record numbers of migrants in the U.S. without legal status.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; additional reporting by Deisy Buitrago in Caracas; editing by Diane Craft)
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