Mexico, Venezuela Begin Repatriation Flights for Migrants Amid Pressure From Biden Administration

As part of its effort to curb the migrant crisis, the Biden Administration has pressured Mexico and Venezuela to restart repatriation flights. It has worked as on Sunday, both Mexico and Venezuela announced that the repatriation flights of Venezuelan migrants in Mexico have finally restarted.

This comes after the Biden administration negotiated with the Nicolas Maduro regime that it must take back migrants who fled the country as they tried to get across the US-Mexico border. The restart also came soon after the Biden administration sent top officials to Mexico City to talk with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador about the immigration situation.

According to the Associated Press, these repatriation flights are actually part of an agreement made between regional leaders during a summit in Mexico in October. The meeting, which included leaders from all over Latin America and the Caribbean, sought solutions for the surge in migration levels that show few signs of slowing down.

"He asked - Joe Biden asked to speak with me - he was worried about the situation on the border because of the unprecedented number of migrants arriving at the border," said Mexico President AMLO after his high-level meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. "He called me, saying we had to look for a solution together."

Right now, Mexico is seeking the US to lift its sanctions on Venezuela and Cuba, which are both suffering respective economic crises as a result of these sanctions. These sanctions are said to have led to the massive exodus of people from these countries in an effort to get a better life.

The talks between the US and Mexico came after the US government temporarily shuttered some border crossings to redeploy agents toward enforcing the border more.

Mexico and Venezuela Admit They Are Working Together Over Repatriation Flights

As for the repatriation flights themselves, these are coordinated between both the Mexican and Venezuelan governments, with the Mexican Foreign Ministry saying, that "it was agreed to restart the coordinated mechanism of repatriation flights for Venezuelans."

According to Reuters, two flights had already left Mexico and departed for Venezuela. These happened on Friday and Saturday. "Both countries are working on the implementation of social programs in Venezuela that will benefit, among others, repatriated people by linking them with productive projects and paid internships in workplaces," the statement from the Mexican Foreign Ministry read.

Biden Administration Wants Migrants To Use Lawful Pathways To Get To US

As more migrants troop the US, the Biden administration espoused the various legal pathways people can get into the YS, and that is not illegally crossing the US-Mexico border.

"This Administration has carried out the largest expansion of lawful pathways in decades, and we continue to impose consequences under the law for those who do not avail themselves of those pathways," said Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Kristie Canegall in a statement released via the DHS official website. . "No one should listen to the lies of smugglers; individuals who cross irregularly will be subject to removal if they do not have a legal basis to remain and will lose the ability to benefit from lawful pathways."

To deter people, the repatriation flights from Mexico to Venezuela have been implemented as people who take the perilous journey to the US-Mexico border may find themselves back in Venezuela.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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