Trump Administration Threatens to Deport Venezuelan Military Families Loyal to Maduro

The Trump administration is threatening to deport family members of Venezuelan military officials who obey Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and block humanitarian aid from entering the country, The Miami Herald reports. A senior administration official told reporters the government had collected data on military leaders who have family currently in the U.S.—some of whom are living in the Miami area. The official said the family members were living in “luxury” while others in Venezuela were struggling. “We will no longer tolerate that double standard,” the official reportedly said. “They face a situation where they and their families will have to go back to Venezuela… They will have to go back and live in the misery that they’re imposing.” According to the newspaper, the official also said the U.S. was working with allies to boot Venezuelan military family members out of the Caribbean and other countries.

This comes after Venezuela barricaded a key bridge, blocking U.S. humanitarian aid from entering the country. President Maduro, who is facing a presidential crisis and calls from around the world to step down, reportedly sees humanitarian aid as “a foreign intervention.”