Trump signs last-minute order shielding Venezuelan migrants from deportation

A man stands in front of signs displaying prices of products in U.S. dollars outside a grocery store in the Quinta Crespo neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela. In his final few hours in office, President Trump signed an order late Tuesday shielding tens of thousands of Venezuelan migrants from deportation, rewarding the Venezuelan exiles who have been among his most loyal supporters and who fear losing the same privileged access to the White House during President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. The last-minute reprieve — in sharp contrast to Trump’s hard-line immigration policies of the last four years — capped a final day in office that also saw Trump issue a sweeping new round of financial sanctions targeting the alleged front man of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and tighten controls to keep spying technology out of the hands of the Venezuelan military. Blinken, in his first comments on Venezuela, said he would continue recognizing Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president and indicated he has no illusions of an eventual dialogue with Maduro, whom he called a “brutal dictator.” Politics U.S. secretly deports Venezuelans even as Trump assails their government’s abuses The Trump administration has secretly deported Venezuelans through third countries despite seeking the government’s downfall amid demonstrably dangerous conditions in Venezuela, according to records and a U.S. senator. The Trump administration was the first of now more than 50 countries in the world to recognize Guaidó as Venezuela’s president shortly after the young lawmaker rose up to challenge Maduro’s rule two years ago.