US Lifts Sanctions on Conviasa, Allows Deportation Flights from Any Western Hemisphere Nation
The Venezuelan airline Conviasa has received a green light to carry out deportation flights for repatriated migrants from any nation in the Western Hemisphere, including the United States. This comes after the current United States administration lifted several sanctions that weighed on the Venezuelan Consortium of Aeronautical Industries and Air Services.
The new regulation, General License number 45A, replaces the previous one and allows Conviasa or any of its subsidiaries where the Consortium has at least 50% participation to carry out deportation flights without any restrictions. The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States Department of the Treasury (OFAC) emphasized that the airline will only be able to repatriate Venezuelans.
The entire Conviasa fleet was blocked by OFAC since August 5, 2019, based on Executive Order 13884. Six months later, the United States restricted the passage of the Consortium’s ships through its airspace. With the new OFAC regulation, deportation flights are further enhanced, especially from American soil, reflecting El Diario.
Troy Miller, acting commissioner of the Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP), addressed the issue, stating, “Individuals and families who do not have a legal basis to remain in the US will be deported.”
Deportations are not limited to Venezuelans. In fact, 238 have returned to their country so far, and Cuban citizens are also affected. Conviasa planes will be used to return nationals to the Island as well. On October 26, the seventh flight from the United States arrived in Havana, transporting 27 Cubans who had tried to enter the northern country without authorization.
According to official figures, since the resumption in April of deportation flights until October, the Joe Biden administration has returned 349 Cubans. This marks a significant increase in deportation flights to Cuba, reflecting the ongoing immigration policies under the new administration.