Attachments
Description of the Event
Date when the trigger was met 28-05-2025
What happened, where and when?
On 28 May, flight number 17 arrived in Venezuela with returnees. This brought the total number of people assisted by the Venezuelan Red Cross to 3,612—exceeding the original target of 3,500 established in the DREF request. Reaching this threshold triggered the transition from an imminent DREF to a response DREF, in line with the criteria outlined in the initial request.
Between February and May 2025, more than 5,000 Venezuelan men and women were returned from the United States, Mexico, and other transit countries. Many of these returns took place without adequate safeguards, affecting particularly children and adolescents, unaccompanied women, and individuals with specific protection needs. Some of these returns occurred within the framework of the “Vuelta a la Patria” (Return to the Homeland) program—a long-standing social initiative promoted by the Venezuelan State. The program aims to facilitate the voluntary return of Venezuelan citizens abroad in vulnerable situations, with no specific prioritization profiles, allowing any citizen expressing the will to return to participate.
The initiative supports family, social, and economic reintegration through coordinated actions in the area of human mobility, working jointly with various institutions to ensure a safe and dignified return.
However, many returns occurred without processes that ensured the protection of human rights, generating increased protection risks and humanitarian needs. During the first half of 2025, changes in migration policies in the United States and several Latin American countries have had direct consequences on the lives, safety, and dignity of thousands of Venezuelans in situations of mobility.
In the United States, the termination of the humanitarian parole program—upheld by the Supreme Court—has left over 530,000 individuals from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua without a regular pathway to entry and unprotected from deportation. This situation has been further compounded by the cancellation of the most recent designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which excludes the majority of Venezuelan nationals who arrived after 2021. This has led to increased uncertainty and risks associated with irregular migration.
In Colombia—home to more than 3 million Venezuelans—the reduction in international funding has begun to impact regularization processes. Over 300,000 individuals have been left without documentation to prove their migratory status, limiting their access to healthcare, education, and formal employment, and exposing many families to exploitation and social exclusion.
Along transit routes—especially at border areas such as Panama and Costa Rica—a sustained increase has been observed in Venezuelan nationals stranded without resources or support networks. Many of them choose to return to Venezuela in extremely vulnerable conditions after facing violence, misinformation, or exploitation along their migration journey.
According to recent reports, these returns are taking place in a context of urgent unmet humanitarian needs—particularly in terms of food, healthcare, and temporary shelter. From a humanitarian perspective, this situation underscores the pressing need for coordinated responses grounded in human rights and protection frameworks, which prioritize the well-being of people on the move, regardless of their migration status.
In response, the Venezuelan Red Cross, in its auxiliary role, has supported the humanitarian response during the reception of returnees, providing comprehensive care including differentiated kits, snacks, and primary health services.
The Red Cross, guided by its Fundamental Principles, reaffirms its commitment to providing assistance without discrimination to all individuals in situations of vulnerability, and advocates for durable solutions that ensure access to essential services, the protection of human dignity, and the non-criminalization of migration.