In a coordinated effort between the U.S. government and Venezuelan state airline Conviasa, 177 Venezuelan migrants were repatriated from Guantanamo Bay to Venezuela on Thursday, with a brief stopover in Honduras, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The flight landed at Caracas’ main airport around 10 p.m. local time (0200 GMT), where Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello boarded the plane to personally welcome the returnees. Cabello announced on state television that all repatriated individuals would undergo health screenings, and those with pending criminal charges would be handed over to the judicial system.

“This repatriation is the result of negotiation efforts,” Cabello said, highlighting the diplomatic engagement that led to the migrants’ return from the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil, in a statement on Telegram earlier on Thursday, asserted that Venezuela had requested the repatriation of its citizens, who he claimed were “unjustly” held at Guantanamo.

The transfer process involved a stop at the Soto Cano airbase, a joint U.S.-Honduran military facility, where Honduran authorities had initially announced the arrival of approximately 170 Venezuelan migrants before their swift transfer back to Venezuela.

Legal representatives of at least six of the deported migrants revealed that they were only informed of the deportations on Thursday afternoon. This follows a recent lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which sought access to migrants held at Guantanamo, arguing that their right to legal counsel was being violated.

A DHS spokesperson disclosed that the deportees included 126 individuals with criminal charges or convictions. Among them, 80 were allegedly linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which the U.S. has designated as a global terrorist organization. The remaining 51 migrants reportedly had no criminal records.

Thursday’s operation leaves no migrant detainees at Guantanamo Bay, according to the DHS spokesperson.

The U.S. government’s move aligns with its broader strategy to crack down on organized crime and bolster immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump’s administration.