Venezuelan migrants returning home with Vuelta a la Patria Program, waiting for a COVID-19 test in the Maiquetia Airport. Photo courtesy of Twitter / @LAConviasa.
The Venezuelan government, by virtue of its commitment for the protection of Venezuelans abroad, in coordination with State airline CONVIASA, facilitated the safe return of 94 Venezuelans from the Republic of Ecuador, free of charge, as part of the Vuelta a la Patria (Return to the Homeland) program.
Among the repatriated Venezuelans are children, adolescents, adults and the elderly, natives of the states of Zulia, Yaracuy, Trujillo, Táchira, Sucre, Nueva Esparta, Monagas, Miranda, Mérida, Lara, Carabobo and the Capital District, according to a press release.
During their boarding at the José Joaquín Olmedo International Airport, which serves the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, the Venezuelans followed the mandatory requirements of the biosafety and medical protection measures of the World Health Organization (WHO), and the usual post-pandemic procedures for international travel.
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#30Oct Hoy a las 5 de la mañana arribó nuestro vuelo humanitario a Venezuela con 94 connacionales procedentes de Ecuador, gracias a esta misión la cifra de venezolanos que han retornado al país a través del plan vuelta a la patria asciende a 26 mil 848. pic.twitter.com/9t38fpa9FG
— Línea Aérea Conviasa (@LAConviasa) October 30, 2021
Plan Vuelta a la Patria: a design of humanity
The head of the Venezuelan embassy in Ecuador, Pedro Sassone, urged the 94 Venezuelans to reflect on what they have had to live in Ecuador and on their future in Venezuela.
“It has not been easy, it has been complex due to the economic situation in Ecuador, especially the low possibility of obtaining jobs. So let your families know what it means to be a migrant,” said the diplomat during his farewell speech.
Further, he described the Vuelta a la Patria program as a design of solidarity, care and humanity, which can be chosen voluntarily and whose premise is social reintegration through the different programs that are currently being implemented by the Chavista government.
“So I invite you to return optimistic to Venezuela and to work for it, to rebuild what one day you had to leave behind,” he stressed. The operations of the Vuelta a la Patria program respond to the high demand of requests by Venezuelans who have suffered discrimination, xenophobia or violation of their fundamental rights, in countries of the region.
Siguiendo instrucciones del Presidente @NicolasMaduro, acaba de aterrizar en Guayaquil un avión de nuestra @LAConviasa que repatriará a 94 venezolanos desde Ecuador en el marco del fortalecimiento del Plan Vuelta a la Patria. Venezuela los recibe con los brazos abiertos 🇪🇨🛫🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/ReDjAeuGIE
— Felix Plasencia (@plasenciafelixr) October 30, 2021
The Foreign Affairs Minister of Venezuela, Félix Plasencia, reported the return of the Venezuelans from Ecuador through the Vuelta a la Patria program, specifying that it was carried out in coordination with the Venezuelan airline CONVIASA and as part of the strengthening of the plan launched by President Maduro’s administration.
“Venezuela welcomes you back with open arms,” was Minister Plasencia’s message for his returning compatriots.
Since its launch three years ago, the humanitarian program has achieved the repatriation—free of charge—of more than 26,000 Venezuelans, of them, 10,000 since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic:
The Venezuelans who have returned through this program came back from the following countries: Argentina 1,156, Brazil 7,285, Chile 2,662, China 4, Colombia 764, Cuba 209, Ecuador 5,174, Panama 554, Peru 6,590, Dominican Republic 536, Uruguay 143, Mexico 119, Martinique 8, Bonaire 6, Italy 404, Spain 329, Belarus 37, Trinidad and Tobago 847.
Featured image: Venezuelan migrants returning home through the Vuelta a la Patria Program, waiting for a COVID-19 test in the Maiquetia Airport. Photo: Twitter / @LAConviasa
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC
