Venezuelan National Assembly President, Jorge Rodriguez, criticized the United States for deporting Venezuelans to El Salvador without due process, stating they had no known criminal record in either country. Rodriguez pledged to work towards repatriating them. The Trump administration claims the deportees are linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, known for criminal activities.
Despite a court order against it, the Trump administration utilized the wartime powers of the Alien Enemies Act to deport over 200 alleged gang members. Rodriguez plans to advise Venezuelans against traveling to the U.S. and encourages those who have migrated there to return, promising to assist in their repatriation.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello mentioned that out of the 600 migrants deported to Venezuela from the U.S. and Mexico since February, only 16 were undergoing legal proceedings, none of them affiliated with Tren de Aragua.
Amid accusations of arbitrary arrests by Maduro's government, the political opposition alleges the government's collaboration with foreign entities like the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised the issue of nine detained Americans in Venezuela, while the Venezuelan government has accused some Americans of participating in terrorist activities.