600 Venezuelans Return Home Thanks to Maduro's Patria Plan

On Saturday, 600 Venezuelans returned to their homeland from Ecuador and Peru, with the Plan Vuelta a la Patria (Return to the Homeland Plan) sponsored by the Nicolas Maduro administration.

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Six flights left the South American countries and headed to Venezuela, three from Quito, the Ecuadorean capital, and three from Lima, the capital of Peru.

"It was xenophobic, we had no opportunities, and I celebrated the initiative of our humanitarian president, Nicolás Maduro, to repatriate us at no cost," said one of the beneficiaries of the Plan, reflecting on his experience in Quito.

He added, "Venezuela is a country of opportunities, there are more opportunities than here in Ecuador. I am happy to return to my homeland and fight for my country, I'll fight for as long as I live, now that I realize how big Venezuela is."

From Ecuador, the flights took off from the Mariscal Sucre airport on Saturday morning right through the afternoon, taking 300 Venezuelans to Caracas, among which 53 children were onboard.

"Going back to Venezuela is very expensive, and this is wonderful, you always need your family (...) It's not good to leave the country, you feel bad, you go out there to make money, but do not go out of Venezuela, be that as it may, we are going to stay, there is the best, "said one of the beneficiaries of the Return to the Homeland Plan, Isaura Ciero, before boarding the first of the planes that departed from Ecuador.

From Peru, planes will leave Lima from the Jorge Chávez airport, at 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. (local time), returning to Venezuela another 300 beneficiaries in total, 60 minors among them.

"I am excited to see all my friends and my brother, I am very happy because we are going to return to Venezuela," said a child called Sebastián, who was in the Venezuelan embassy in Peru to get the benefits from the Plan. Another returnee, traveling from Lima to Caracas today, said that "we Venezuelans like to work but here they exploit us and we prefer to return to our country and continue fighting to raise Venezuela."

The program promoted by President Nicolas Maduro seeks to help Venezuelans who in recent years left their country voluntarily and who wish to return with the premise of studying, working and contributing to the economic prosperity of Venezuela.

Many of them migrated pushed by the campaign of media manipulation against their native country, believing that outside of Venezuela they would find a better quality of life. Several have denounced the suffering of discrimination, xenophobia, labor mistreatment and lack of opportunities in the nations they arrived at.

The Plan has no cost for the beneficiaries and the trips are paid in full by the Government of Venezuela. It has no prior or subsequent conditions of a political nature or of any kind for its beneficiaries.