Mexico, Venezuela restart repatriation flights amid strain to curb hovering migration to U.S.

MEXICO CITY — Mexico and Venezuela introduced Saturday that they’ve restarted repatriation flights of Venezuelans migrants in Mexico, the most recent transfer by nations within the area to tackle a flood of individuals touring north to the United States.

The transfer comes as authorities say at the very least 10,000 migrants a day have been arriving on the U.S.-Mexico border, a lot of them asylum seekers. It additionally comes as a migrant caravan of 1000’s of individuals from throughout the area – largely Venezuelans – has trekked by way of southern Mexico this week.

The repatriation flights are a part of an settlement made between regional leaders throughout a summit in Mexico in October that aimed to hunt options for migration ranges that present few indicators of slowing down.

Mexico‘s Ministry of Foreign Relations said the two countries began repatriations with a flight on Friday and a second on Saturday in an effort to “strengthen their cooperation on migration issues.” The statement also said the two countries plan to implement social and work programs for those repatriated to Venezuela.

“Mexico and Venezuela reiterate their commitment to address the structural causes that fuel irregular migration in the region, and to achieve a humanitarian management of such flows,” the statement read.

Mexico‘s government said it previously carried out a similar repatriation flight last Jan. 20 with 110 people.

As migration has soared in recent years, the U.S. government has pressured Latin American nations to control the movement of migrants north, but many transit countries have struggled to deal with the quantities of people.

This week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other Biden administration officials were in Mexico City to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador about the high levels of migrants landing on the U.S.-Mexico border.

López Obrador said he also spoke about the issue in a phone call with Presient Joe Biden on Dec. 20.

“He asked – Joe Biden asked to speak with me – he was worried about the situation on the border because of the unprecedented number of migrants arriving at the border,” Mexico‘s leader said. “He called me, saying we had to look for a solution together.”

López Obrador has said he is willing to help, but in exchange he wants the U.S. to send more development aid to migrants’ residence nations and to cut back or remove sanctions in opposition to Cuba and Venezuela.

Mexico‘s president and different critics of American overseas coverage have cited the sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela as one of many root causes of excessive migration.