A 2-year-old Venezuelan girl, separated from her parents by US authorities, has been reunited with her mother.
Reunited at Last
The girl, Maikelis Espinoza, arrived in Caracas on Wednesday along with over 220 other Venezuelans who were deported from the US.
State television aired footage of Venezuela’s First Lady, Cilia Flores, cradling Maikelis at the airport before handing her over to her mother at the presidential palace.
President Nicolás Maduro was also present at the reunion.
Maduro thanked US Special Envoy Richard Grenell for facilitating Maikelis’ return, and extended his gratitude to President Donald Trump, calling it a “deeply humanitarian act”.
Grenell had met Maduro in Caracas shortly after Trump took office.
A Family Torn Apart
The US government had claimed that Maikelis’ parents were linked to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, justifying their separation.
Her mother was deported to Venezuela on April 25, while her father was sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in March.
The Trump administration used an 18th-century war-time law to deport numerous migrants.
Maduro’s government had long refused to accept deported Venezuelans, but since Trump took office, hundreds have been returned, including around 180 who were previously detained at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Trump administration alleged that these individuals were members of Tren de Aragua, but evidence to support these claims is lacking.
The Associated Press reported on this story.