Deported Toddler Reunited with Family After Return to Venezuela from U.S.

A Venezuelan toddler, Maikelys Espinoza Bernal, who was separated from her parents after they crossed the United States-Mexico border, has been returned to Venezuela. Her mother, Yorely Bernal, was deported to Venezuela in April. The child’s return on a Wednesday was met with gratitude by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who thanked former U.S. President Donald Trump and his special envoy, Richard Grenell, for facilitating the reunion. Maduro described the return as “an act of justice.”

The child’s parents were accused by the Trump administration of being involved with the Tren de Aragua gang, a notorious Venezuelan criminal organization. However, these claims have been strongly denied by the family, and no evidence has been provided by U.S. authorities to support them.

The toddler’s father, 25-year-old Maiker Espinoza, was one of at least 137 Venezuelans who were sent in March to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador known as CECOT. The prison is infamous for its harsh conditions and alleged human rights abuses. Venezuelan officials had advocated for the return of Maikelys, and state-run television broadcast footage of First Lady Cilia Flores holding the child upon her arrival at an international airport near Caracas. Maikelys was later reunited with her mother and grandmother during a ceremony at the presidential palace, which was attended by President Maduro.

Despite his previous criticism of Trump’s deportation policies, Maduro reached an agreement in March with the U.S. to accept Venezuelans deported from the country. The Trump administration used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798—a rarely invoked wartime law—to justify deporting Venezuelan migrants without due process. The administration cited unverified or vague claims that the migrants, including Maiker Espinoza, were members of Tren de Aragua. According to the Trump administration, Espinoza held the position of “lieutenant” within the gang, allegedly overseeing homicides, drug trafficking, kidnappings, extortion, sex trafficking, and even a torture facility.

Espinoza’s mother, Maria Escalona, strongly refuted these allegations in an interview with Reuters. She stated that her son had no connections to the gang and believed the accusations were politically motivated. According to her, the U.S. government was using her son’s case to justify its broader actions against innocent Venezuelan migrants.

Similarly, Yorely Bernal, the toddler’s mother, was accused by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of recruiting women for drug smuggling and sex work. Again, no evidence was provided to support these claims before she was deported in April.

The U.S. intelligence community later produced a report concluding there was no evidence to support the Trump administration’s public claim that Tren de Aragua was collaborating with the Maduro government to stage a covert attack on the United States. In response to the report, Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, dismissed two top intelligence officials who were responsible for that assessment.

This case highlights the complex intersection of immigration policy, political motives, and international relations, with serious implications for human rights, due process, and the treatment of migrants under contentious legal frameworks like the Alien Enemies Act.