Venezuela frees US prisoners and agrees to take in deported migrants

Venezuela freed several US prisoners and agreed to take in deported migrants after a visit to Caracas from an envoy of President Donald Trump.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — on whom Washington placed a $25 million bounty last month — said the country had taken “the first steps” toward a new bilateral relationship with the US.

Meanwhile, the White House announced Sunday that it would withdraw the temporary protected status of more than 300,000 Venezuelans living in the US, leaving them vulnerable to deportation in the coming months.

Almost a quarter of Venezuela’s population has fled the country in recent years amid a severe economic recession and Maduro’s increased crackdown on dissent, with many fearing arrest if they return to their homeland.