The United States will resume deporting Venezuelans who illegally cross the US border with Mexico, senior US officials said Thursday.

The announcement comes as the Biden administration faces a surge in illegal migrant crossings.

"This again shows how we are committed to imposing consequences on those who cross the border unlawfully," a senior official told reporters.

Washington has for years refrained from sending migrants back to Venezuela due to instability in the South American nation. It also maintains sanctions against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

Flights to resume in the coming days

A senior US official cited by the French AFP news agency said the deportations would resume following a decision from Venezuelan authorities to accept back their nationals. The official said the first flights would take place "in the next few days."

The Venezuelan government announced the agreement in a statement shared on social media by Foreign Minister Yvan Gil.

It promised "orderly, safe and legal repatriation" would be ensured, but blamed the migration issue on sanctions, accusing the US of violating international law.

The new decision affects Venezuelans who have arrived in the US illegally since July 31.

US points at other 'lawful pathways'

US officials cited by the Reuters news agency said the restart of deportations was a direct consequence of illegal migrants "not having availed themselves of the lawful pathways that we have created and expanded."

One official said over 66,000 Venezuelans had arrived in the country using humanitarian parole for Venezuelans who apply from abroad and have US sponsors, among other pathways.

Last month, the US announced that the nearly half a million Venezuelans who were already in the country by end-July would be granted deportation relief and work permits access.

Complicated US, Venezuelan relations

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have crossed the border in the past two years in a bid to escape dire economic conditions at home, straining resources in several US major cities.

Democratic officials in New York and Chicago have warned of the influx, with migrants braving the treacherous jungle region known as the Darien Gap to reach the US.

Difficulty in deporting illegal migrants has been largely due to icy relations between Washington and Caracas.

The US refused to recognize Venezuelan President Maduro in 2018, recognizing instead then opposition leader Juan Guaido. Washington then announced sweeping sanctions on the Latin American country, including on its lucrative oil sector.

The decision to restart Venezuelan deportation flights came on the same day the Biden administration ordered the construction of additional sections of predecessor Donald Trump's border wall along a stretch of the border with Mexico.

rmt/nm (AFP, Reuters)