Despite tense relations, Maduro government has suggested it could coordinate with Trump on immigration enforcement.
Richard Grenell, an envoy for United States President Donald Trump, has arrived in Venezuela to meet with the country’s president and discuss possible coordination on Trump’s mass deportation push.
At a White House news briefing on Friday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained that Grenell left for Venezuela with two “immediate directives” from Trump.
“Number one, Rick Grenell has been instructed to identify a place and ensure that repatriation flights of Tren de Aragua members, of Venezuelan nationals who have broken our nation’s laws, will land in Venezuela,” she said.
“Number two, Rick Grenell is in Venezuela to ensure that all US detainees in Venezuela are returned home.”
The White House clarified, however, that the visit should not be seen as the US accepting the legitimacy of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s third term.
During Trump’s first term, from 2017 to 2021, the Republican led a “maximum pressure” campaign against Maduro, in an effort to push the socialist leader from power.
But since Trump took office for a second term on January 20, there have been questions about how his relationship with Maduro might evolve, particularly in light of the cooperation needed for his “mass deportation” campaign.
Leavitt on Friday indicated that there would be no leeway in Washington’s demands for Venezuela to accept deportation flights. “We expect every nation on this planet to cooperate,” she said.
Mauricio Claver-Carone, the US special envoy for Latin America, echoed that sentiment during a conference call with reporters on Friday.
He also pushed Trump’s false claims that foreign governments have intentionally sent criminals from their countries to the US.
“The United States and President Trump expects Nicolas Maduro to take back all of the Venezuelan criminals and gang members that have been exported to the United States, and to do so unequivocally and without condition,” said Claver-Carone. “And that is non-negotiable.”
While some figures in Trump’s cabinet have staked out hawkish positions towards Venezuela, some have speculated that the administration could offer incentives like sanctions relief in exchange for coordination on deportation flights.
Maduro was sworn in for a controversial third term as president earlier this month, despite allegations that he fraudulently claimed victory in the country’s elections on July 28.
No official breakdown of the voter tallies was ever published. But the opposition coalition has released copies of voter records that allegedly show a rival candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won.
In response to the controversial election, protesters demonstrated against Maduro’s government, and security forces responded with a harsh crackdown that killed an estimated 24 people.
Facing an arrest warrant, Gonzalez has since gone into exile, though he took a tour this month of countries including the US to rally support for his claim to victory.
The US has recognised Gonzalez as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, and leaders of the European Union have likewise rejected the legitimacy of Maduro’s victory.
This is not the first time that the US has supported a rival claim to Venezuela’s presidency. In 2019, after another contested election, National Assembly leader Juan Guaido named himself acting president. Trump invited Guaido to attend his State of the Union speech the very next year.
“Maduro is an illegitimate ruler, a tyrant who brutalises his people. But Maduro’s grip on tyranny will be smashed and broken,” Trump said at the time.
For his part, Maduro has accused the US of fomenting instability inside the country.
During Trump’s first term, the Republican leader ratcheted up sanctions on Venezuela and even called for a reward for any information that might lead to Maduro’s arrest.
But critics say those sanctions contributed to Venezuela’s severe economic problems, one of the main reasons for the mass exodus from the country. The United Nations estimates that 7.7 million Venezuelans have fled abroad, due to economic and political pressures.
Earlier this week, Trump revoked the temporary protected status (TPS) that had shielded about 600,000 Venezuelans living in the United States from deportation.
However, to deport foreign citizens back to their country of origin, the US must have an agreement with the government of a given country.
This has spurred diplomatic clashes, with some governments — including Mexico and Colombia — briefly refusing to allow flights to land.