U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that the Trump administration will impose "severe and escalating sanctions" on Venezuela if the government of authoritarian president Nicolás Maduro fails to resume accepting deportation flights of Venezuelan nationals from the U.S.
Rubio added in a post on his X account that Venezuela is "obligated to accept its citizens repatriated from the United States."
"This is not a matter of debate or negotiation. Nor does it merit any reward." He also warned that "unless the Maduro regime accepts a steady flow of deportation flights, without further excuses or delays, the United States will impose new severe and escalating sanctions."
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…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 18, 2025
Rubio's statement comes after the U.S. deported 238 Venezuelans to El Salvador on Saturday, alleging they were all members of transnational criminal group "Tren de Aragua", which originated in the South American country. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency stated it conducted a "careful review" confirming ties between the deportees and the organization. Families of several deportees firmly rejected any ties with the gang.
The deportees, along with 23 Salvadorans, were transferred to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) for a one-year term under a $6 million agreement between the U.S. and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. A video released by Bukele's government showed the detainees restrained, kneeling, and having their heads shaved by security personnel.
Venezuela has since condemned the deportations. Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela's National Assembly, asserted that officials would resort to "all countries and bilateral relations, legal strategies" to return the deportees while Maduro himself called the measure "an illegal, anachronistic action" that violates international law and human rights agreements and described the deportations as evoking "the darkest episodes of human history, from slavery to the horror of Nazi concentration camps."
A prior agreement for Venezuela to resume accepting deportation flights had been reached in January after a meeting between Maduro and U.S. envoy Richard Grenell. Two deportation flights carrying 190 deportees landed in Venezuela on February 10 , an event that Maduro himself called a "favorable and positive step" in the bilateral relations, claiming he is seeking to "build relations of respect, communication and understanding" with the Trump administration.
However, after the Trump administration announced in March that to Chevron would cease all activities in Venezuela by early April, the agreement between the two countries soured, with Maduro saying that the decision "affected" the future of deportation flights.
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