Close to 200 Venezuelan citizens who were being held at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility have been returned to their home country this week. Several flights transported the 177 individuals back to Venezuela after the nation agreed to accept their return. The U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement flight carrying the Venezuelans made a stop in Honduras before ultimately arriving in Caracas.

Photographs depict the group of men, dressed in gray sweatsuits, waiting on the tarmac to board the aircraft.

Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrive at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

This repatriation follows two earlier flights last week that also returned 190 Venezuelan citizens from the U.S. Back in January, former President Donald Trump had proposed expanding the Guantánamo detention center's capacity to potentially hold up to 30,000 individuals. The facility, primarily known for housing terrorism suspects following the 9/11 attacks, was envisioned by Trump as a solution for detaining individuals deemed too dangerous to be repatriated.

Venezuela's recent cooperation in accepting the return of its citizens suggests a potential shift in policy and a willingness to engage in regular repatriations. In official documentation submitted to the court, U.S. immigration and military officials noted that Venezuela had previously resisted such repatriations, but recent high-level discussions and resource investments have led to this change.

Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrive at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

The U.S. government has identified some of the Venezuelan detainees at Guantánamo as members of the Tren de Aragua gang, a group that former President Trump has highlighted as a key example of the threats posed by individuals residing in the country illegally. This week, the gang was officially designated as a "foreign terrorist organization."

Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrive at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

The Venezuelan government, under President Nicolás Maduro, issued a statement on Thursday reaffirming its commitment to combating terrorism and criminal organizations, while also condemning the alleged politicization of these issues and rejecting attempts to criminalize the nation and its people.