In one of his last government measures already hours to leave power, US President Donald Trump suspended on Tuesday night the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants for a period of 18 months, At the time he decided to grant temporary work permits.
In a White House statement, Trump said that “the deteriorating situation within Venezuela justifies the postponementor the expulsion of Venezuelan citizens present in the United States. “
The president also considered that his decision, which can benefit those who stay in the country on January 20, responds to “US foreign policy interest”.
The measure has a few exceptions: it does not apply to those people who have been previously deported or who have been convicted for a felony or two misdemeanorss.
In addition to ordering the suspension of the deportations, the still president approved “employment permits for foreigners whose expulsion has been postponed (…) for the duration of the postponement.”
Trump’s decision it is a gesture of complicity to the Venezuelan community in the United States, Mostly resident in Florida, who protected him during these four years for his belligerence against the government of Nicolás Maduro.
In fact, this Tuesday Washington to approve new economic sanctions against Caracas, This time by members of an alleged network aimed to market Venezuelan crude evading US penalties.
Since his arrival in the White House in 2017, the Trump administration impose numerous economic sanctions against Maduro’s Executive, whom he considers “illegitimate.”
The United States is one of the strongest supporters of the Venezuelan opposition leader Joan Guaidor, to which in 2019 he recognized as the legitimate president of the Caribbean nation.
The Venezuelan government expects the new Administration of Democrat Joe Biden, who will assume the US Presidency tomorrow, Wednesday, have “signs of decency”, Comply with international law and establish “diplomatic channels of respectful dialogue.”
