Mexico and Venezuela have announced the resumption of repatriation flights for Venezuelan migrants in Mexico, amid increasing pressure to address the surge in migration towards the United States. The decision comes as authorities estimate a staggering number of 10,000 migrants per day arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, many seeking asylum. Additionally, a large migrant caravan consisting primarily of Venezuelans has traveled through southern Mexico this week.

The restart of repatriation flights is a result of an agreement reached during a regional summit in Mexico last October, which aimed to find solutions to the relentless flow of migrants. The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations confirmed that the repatriations began with a flight on Friday and another on Saturday, as part of efforts to enhance cooperation on migration issues. Both countries are also planning to implement social and work programs for the repatriated migrants once they return to Venezuela.

Mexico previously conducted a repatriation flight on January 20, 2022, transporting 110 individuals. Venezuelan authorities have reported that a total of 207 Venezuelans arrived in Caracas on one of the recent flights. Gustavo Vizcaino, director of Venezuela's migration agency, described these flights as "voluntary return flights," in line with a 2018 program initiated by President Nicolas Maduro's government. The program aims to encourage the return of Venezuelans who fled their country's economic and political crisis.

In recent years, migration levels in the region have seen a significant rise, prompting the U.S. government to exert pressure on Latin American nations to manage migrant movement towards the North. However, transit countries have struggled to cope with the sheer number of people involved.

This week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other Biden administration officials held discussions in Mexico City with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador regarding the escalating number of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. President López Obrador revealed that the issue had also been raised during a phone call with President Joe Biden on December 20, with President Biden expressing concern about the unprecedented situation at the border. López Obrador expressed Mexico's willingness to collaborate, but reiterated the need for increased development aid to migrants' home countries and the easing of sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela as reciprocal measures.

Mexico's president, along with other critics of American foreign policy, has identified the sanctions imposed on Cuba and Venezuela as significant contributors to the high levels of migration.