For this purpose, two aircraft from the Conviasa airline were sent, according to a statement released by Minister of Information and Communication Freddy Ñáñez.
The press release specified that the Plan Vuelta a la Patria was designed by the Bolivarian Government to repatriate, from different places in the world, “thousands of compatriots who migrated due to the economic sanctions and the psychological warfare campaigns against our country.”
He indicated that in a recent conversations between President Nicolás Maduro and White House Special Envoy Richard Grenell, the Bolivarian Executive “always made it clear that any transfer of Venezuelans must be done with absolute respect for their dignity and human rights.”
Consequently, he stated, we formulated the proposal that we would have Venezuelan planes available to pick up and transfer the migrants who are now returning to their homeland.
He stressed that “it is the irrevocable position of the Government to address the condition of our migrants and their prerogatives enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
The text indicated that Venezuelan authorities were notified by their US counterpart that some of the people who are returning are allegedly linked to criminal activities, or would be involved in the criminal actions of the so-called “Aragua Train.”
In this regard, he stated that “it is public and accepted by all (that) our institutions fought and defeated that criminal gang in Venezuelan territory.”
As shown by irrefutable evidence presented by the national justice system, these criminal groups had been recruited and activated by extremist sectors of the opposition to sow anxiety and violence in the country, and facilitated the escape of the leaders of these groups to other countries, including the United States, he stressed.
The statement highlighted that “after many efforts, Venezuela is today one of the safest places on our continent, and we will keep it that way.”
He explained that, as appropriate, “the aforementioned people will be subjected to a rigorous investigation as soon as they touch Venezuelan soil and will be subject to the actions provided for in our justice system.”
Ñáñez also confirmed what was discussed with Grenell, that there is a false and malicious narrative around the issue of the so-called “Aragua Train,” planted by the media and representatives of the Joe Biden Administration, to penalize Venezuelan migrants and stigmatize the country.
In this regard, he pointed out that “the majority of migrants are decent and hard-working people.”
The Bolivarian Republic reiterated what was proposed, in the context of the “zero agenda” for a new beginning of relations between both countries, based on respect and safeguarding our self-determination, to establish mechanisms of direct cooperation in the police and justice spheres.
This way, he pointed out, to fight organized crime, the masterminds and financiers of the network of coyotes who “have harmed and defrauded thousands of our compatriots by taking them to the United States and other countries, charging them large sums of money.”
Venezuela ratified – within the framework of the Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace – its willingness to maintain direct relations of communication, respect and understanding with the Government of the United States.
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