Luisa's family, after fleeing economic turmoil in Venezuela, faced a harrowing ordeal upon reaching Mexico, where they were kidnapped and forced to work by criminals. With the tightening of U.S. border policies under Donald Trump's administration, their hopes for asylum dimmed, leaving them stranded with no resources. They sought assistance from the Venezuelan Embassy in Mexico City for repatriation, joining many others in similar predicaments. As they awaited help, a flight carrying other deported Venezuelans landed, underscoring their desperate situation and the unclear selection criteria for humanitarian flights back home.
As soon as Luisa's family crossed the border into Tapachula, they were kidnapped. For a week, they were enslaved by criminals cleaning bathrooms, sweeping floors, and forced to write home to Venezuela for ransom.
We were adrift, we had no money, nothing, recalled Luisa. News from the U.S. wasn't encouraging: Venezuelans being hunted down, deported, or locked up in high-security prisons alongside Salvadoran gang members.
The hardest part of the journey was the jungle and Mexico, she says. That's why we are here, at the gates of the Venezuelan Embassy in Mexico City, pleading for a humanitarian flight.
Things didn't go the way we wanted, but it's getting out of hand now, and we really need that humanitarian aid from Nicolas Maduro.
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