She, her husband and five children returned to her South American country in March.
Covid-19 pandemia pushed migrants to the United States
More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have emigrated since 2013, when the oil -dependent economy of their country was unraveled. The majority were established in Latin America and the Caribbean, but after the Covid-19 pandemic, migrants saw the United States as their best opportunity to improve their living conditions.
Many Venezuelans entered the United States into programs that allowed them to obtain work permits and protected them from deportation. But since January, the White House has ended the protections of immigrants and has aggressively sought their deportations, since the president of the United States, Donald Trump, fulfills his campaign promise to limit immigration to the United States.
The Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, had long refused to recover deported Venezuelans, but changed course earlier this year under the pressure of the White House. Immigrants now regularly arrive at the airport outside the capital, Caracas, on flights operated by a government contractor of the United States or the state airline of Venezuela.
The United States government has defended its bold movements, including sending more than 200 Venezuelans to a prison in El Salvador for four months, arguing that many of the immigrants belonged to the violent gang of Train Street in Aragua. The administration did not provide evidence to support the general accusation. However, several deported immigrants have recently said that US authorities mistakenly judged their tattoos and used them as an excuse to deport them.
Maduro declared ‘Economic Emergency’
Many of those who return home, such as Pérez and his family, are finding harder living conditions than when they left as a monetary crisis, the inflation of triple digits and the few wages have made food and other needs not affectable, much less the vehicle, home and electronics they sold before migrating. The minimum monthly salary of 130 Bolivares, or $ 1.02 until Monday, has not increased in Venezuela from 2022. People generally have two, three or more jobs to improvise money.
This last chapter in the 12 -year crisis even led Maduro to declare an “economic emergency” in April.
David Rodríguez emigrated twice each one to Colombia and Peru before he decided to try to arrive in the United States, left Venezuela last year, crossed Darien’s treacherous gap on foot, arrived through Central America and walked, climbed into a train and took buses throughout Mexico. Then the American immigration authorities were given in December, but was arrested for 15 days and deported to Mexico.
Break, Rodríguez, 33, worked as a Mototaxi driver in Mexico City until he saved enough money to buy his plane ticket to Venezuela in March.
“Going to the United States … It was a total setback,” he said while sitting at a relative’s house in Caracas. “At this time, I don’t know what to do except out of debt first.”
You must pay $ 50 per week for a motorcycle that you bought to work as a motorcycle taxi driver. In a good week, he said, he can win $ 150, but there are others when he only does enough to meet the payment of $ 50.
Migrants are looking for loan sharks
Some migrants enrolled in beauty and cake schools or became food delivery drivers after being deported. Others already emigrated to Spain. Many were looking for loan sharks.
The brother -in -law of Pérez, who also made aluminum kitchen utensils before migrating last year, allows him to use the oven and other equipment he left at home in Maracaibo so that the family can make a living. But most of their profits cover the monthly interest rate of 40% of a loan of $ 1,000.
If the debt was not a sufficient concern, Pérez also has to worry about the exact reason he walked away: extortion.
Pérez said she and her family fled from Maracaibo after spending several hours in police custody in June 2024 for refusing to pay an officer $ 1,000. The officer, Pérez said, knocked on his door and demanded the money in exchange for allowing her to continue operating her non -depressed cooking business in her backyard.
She said the officers traced her on her return and already demanded money.
“I work to make a day life until next day … last week, some guards came. ‘Look, you must support me,” Pérez said in early July.
“Then, if I don’t give them any (money), others also appear. I transfer $ 5. It has to be more than $ 5 because otherwise, they will fight with you.”
