The Bolivarian Foreign Affairs Ministry announced that 249 Venezuelans returned to their country from Peru through the "Return to the Homeland Plan" (RHP), a voluntary repatriation program implemented by President Nicolas Maduro’s administration.
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At 10:27 p.m. on Tuesday, a flight of the state airline Conviasa took off from Lima with 135 adults, 26 older adults, and 88 minors. Almost four hours later, the plane landed at the Maiquetia International Airport in Venezuela amid the passangers' emotional applause.
Since August 2018, this humanitarian program has allowed the repatriation of 27,537 Venezuelans from countries such as Brazil (7,285), Peru (7,090), Ecuador (5,363), Chile (2,662), Argentina (1,156), Trinidad and Tobago (846), Colombia (764), Panama (554), and Dominican Republic (536).
"The RHP promotes humanistic values, favors family reunification, and protects children and adolescents," said Mariana Silva, first secretary of the Venezuelan embassy in Lima.
Among the passengers on this flight, there were three minors aged 3, 10 and 11, who were in a situation of family vulnerability given that they had no direct family member in Peru and were under the guardianship of the Peruvian state.
Their repatriation was possible thanks to the actions coordinated by Venezuelan diplomats with the Peruvian Special Protection Unity (UPE), and the National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (IDENA).
"Our priority at all times is focused on the return of the children, so that they can reunite with their family in Venezuela," Silva explained.