From the American dream to poverty
MARACAY, Venezuela (AP) — This wasn’t the Christmas Mariela Gómez imagined a year ago. or what happened thousands of Venezuelan immigrants I would think. But Donald Trump returned to the White House in January and quickly put an end to the American dream.
So Gómez found himself spending his holiday in northern Venezuela for the first time in eight years. She dressed, cooked, bought a scooter for her son, and smiled at her mother-in-law. No matter how hard he tried, he could not ignore the main challenges returning immigrants faced: unemployment and poverty.
“We had a modest dinner, not quite what we expected, but at least there was food on the table,” Gómez said of the lasagna-like dish he shared with his partner and relatives, instead of the traditional Christmas meal of stuffed corn dough hallaka. “Making hallaka is a bit expensive here, and we cannot afford to do it because we are unemployed.”
Gómez returned to the city of Maracay on October 27 after crossing the US-Mexico border with his two sons and his partner. TexasThey were quickly swept up by the US Border Patrol amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. They were deported to Mexico, from there They began a dangerous journey towards Venezuela.
They crossed Central America by bus, but when they arrived in Panama the family could not afford to take a boat from the Caribbean to Colombia. Instead, they took the cheaper route across the choppy waters of the Pacific; They sat on churning gas tanks in a cargo boat for several hours, then transferred to a fast boat and reached a jungle area of Colombia. They spent about two weeks there until they wired the money to go to the Venezuelan border.
Gómez was among more than 7.7 million Venezuelans who fled their home country in the last decade as its economy collapsed due to the collapse in oil prices, corruption and mismanagement. He lived in Colombia and Peru for years before setting his sights on the United States in hopes of starting a new life.
Trump’s second term has dashed the hopes of many like Gómez.
As of September, more than one 14,000 immigrants, mostly from VenezuelaFigures from Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica have returned to South America since Trump moved to limit immigration to the United States. Additionally, Venezuelans have been regularly deported to their home countries this year following President Nicolás. Maduro is under pressure from the White HouseIt eliminated its long-standing policy of not accepting US deportees
The migrants regularly arrived at the airport outside the capital Caracas on flights operated by a U.S. government contractor or Venezuela’s state-owned airline. More than 13,000 immigrants It returned this year with charter flights.
Gómez’s return to Venezuela also allowed him to see the 20-year-old daughter he left behind while escaping the country’s complex crisis. They talked and drank beer during the holiday, knowing that this might be the last drink they shared for a while; Gómez’s daughter will emigrate to Brazil next month.
Gómez hopes to make hallaka for New Year’s Eve and also hopes to find a job. But his prayers for the coming year are mostly for good health.
“I ask God for many things, most importantly life and health, so we can continue to enjoy our family,” he said.
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Garcia Cano reported from Caracas.
