\n The United States sent back more than 100 Venezuelans on a repatriation flight on Monday, the first time since deadly earthquakes ravaged the South American nation in late June.\n <\/p>\n
\n The Trump administration had been deporting hundreds of Venezuelans per week prior to June, but its deportation drive came to a halt after back-to-back over 7-magnitude earthquakes killed more than 6,000 people, and laid waste to swathes of the country.\n <\/p>\n
\n The last flight carrying 146 Venezuelans landed in Venezuela just hours before the disaster<\/a> struck. Many of those on that flight were killed when a hotel they were being housed at collapsed<\/a> in the quake.\n <\/p>\n \n On Monday, a plane with 147 Venezuelan migrants abroad took off from the Miami and landed in Anzo\u00e1tegui state, CNNE reported.\n <\/p>\n \n The flight landed at General Jos\u00e9 Antonio Anzo\u00e1tegui International Airport in the city of Barcelona. The last flight before the quake landed at the country\u2019s main Sim\u00f3n Bol\u00edvar International Airport, which sustained significant damage during the tremor.\n <\/p>\n \n CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.\n <\/p>\n \n In a social media post, Mervin Maldonado, head of the repatriation program on the Venezuelan side, welcomed the migrants, saying they are \u201creturning home, to reunite with their families, to continue their education, to be productive, and to contribute to national development.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Fleeing an economic crisis and political repression back home, many Venezuelans have risked their lives on treacherous journeys to reach the US.\n <\/p>\n \n But in October last year, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 300,000 Venezuelan migrants, who were permitted entry under a humanitarian relief program.\n <\/p>\n \n Since then, the US had been deporting hundreds of people per week to Venezuela, with 1,746 Venezuelans deported in May, a month before the deadly earthquakes struck, according to ICE Flight Monitor.\n <\/p>\n