251 Venezuelans Return Thanks to Voluntary Repatriation Plan

in the early hours of Friday, 88 Venezuelan migrants returned to their country thanks to "Return to the Homeland" (Vuelta a la Patria), a program launched in 2018 by President Nicolas Maduro to help nationals living in precarious economic situations abroad.

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A state-owned CONVIASA flight brought them to the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, in the state of La Guaira, where the Venezuelan authorities received them.

“Venezuela welcomes you with open arms,” the Bolivarian Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil tweeted.

Since its creation in 2018, this program has facilitated the return of 30,979 Venezuelans who were residing in some 25 countries. That happened thanks to 186 flights and one sea transfer. To date, 9,761 Venezuelans have been voluntarily repatriated from Peru.

After their arrival at the Simon Bolivar airport, the returnees received the health protocol established by the health authorities to rule out COVID-19 cases.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for Latin America Rander Peña stated that Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro will expand the beneficiaries of social protection policies, one of which is the Return to Homeland program.

“We are responding to the will of Venezuelans who have expressed their desire to return to their homeland and put all their potential to build the country we want," he said.