Nearly 200 Venezuelan migrants are flown home from Guantanamo Bay, with a layover in Honduras

Nearly 200 Venezuelan immigrants to the U.S. were returned to their home country after being detained at Guantanamo Bay in a flurry of flights that forged an unprecedented pathway for U.S. deportations. The government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said it had “requested the repatriation of a group” of Venezuelans “who were unjustly taken” to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In a court filing Thursday, federal immigration and military authorities said that “Venezuela has historically resisted accepting repatriation of its citizens but has recently begun accepting removals following high-level political discussions and an investment of significant resources.” Two recent Venezuelan flights carried 190 immigrants directly from the U.S. to Venezuela in a rare moment of coordination between the two countries that may be giving way to regular exchanges. They argued in Thursday’s court filing that the recent detainees at Guantanamo do not have a right to legal counsel because they all are subject to final orders of removal to Venezuela, affording them “very limited due process rights.” Relatives of the new Guantanamo detainees and advocacy groups have accused the U.S. government of holding immigrants without access to counsel or any means of asserting their rights, amid unsubstantiated or disputed accusations of criminal ties. The Departments of Homeland Security and Defense “are not presently offering the opportunity for in-person visits to immigration detainees at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay but will continue to evaluate whether to extend this option in light of significant logistical challenges, the availability of alternative means of counsel communication, and the anticipated short duration of immigration detainee stays.” Attorney Lee Gelernt of the ACLU — among the plaintiffs challenging detention practices at Guantanamo — said Thursday’s deportations were conducted with a troubling lack of transparency.