On 18 June, in a significant political victory, Venezuela secured the release of 252 of its nationals detained in El Salvador at the behest of the United States. These were young men who after being racially profiled by US immigration officials had been detained and deported to El Salvador’s notorious ‘Terrorism confinement centre’ where they were held without due process, in intolerable conditions. Venezuela’s ‘Return to the Homeland’ programme has now rescued 8,743 nationals from the US immigration detention system including 1,182 children. One Venezuelan activist, Jorge Vilalta, from the Otro Beta collective working with youth in Venezuela’s barrios, told FRFI: ‘The return of our 252 compatriots is a victory in our struggle for the sovereignty and dignity of our people. It is a victory against xenophobia and racism, against the neo-fascist imperialism that rules the global north. From Venezuela we will continue to fight with all our strength for life, for peace, for independence. WE WILL OVERCOME!’
Sam McGill
Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! 307, August/September 2025
