DOJ requests delay of court deadline to return deported Venezuelans to US after Maduro arrest

The Justice Department requested a week-long delay of a court deadline to return deported Venezuelans to the United States after the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a U.S. military operation.The DOJ is facing a Monday deadline from U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to either “facilitate the return” of the deported Venezuelan nationals to the U.S. or “otherwise provide them with hearings that satisfy the requirements of due process,” the Washington Examiner reported.
They were deported in March 2025 to a mega prison in El Salvador because of their alleged ties to the Tren de Aragua gang, before being transferred to Venezuela in a prisoner exchange.
On Sunday night, the DOJ said in a court filing that the extension is necessary because the military operation over the weekend has led to “substantial changes” in the country.
“Over the weekend, the United States apprehended Nicolas Maduro,” the DOJ said in the filing. “As a result, the situation on the ground in Venezuela has changed dramatically. Defendants thus need additional time to determine the feasibility of various proposals. Defendants therefore request a 7-day extension to evaluate and determine what remedies are possible.”
Boasberg has yet to respond to the DOJ’s request.
Maduro, who is now detained in New York City and will appear in court on Monday, was sympathetic toward the deported Venezuelans’ detention in El Salvador, previously referring to them as “kidnapped brothers” and demanding their return to Venezuela.
Many of the former detainees have since been released into the country after the prisoner swap, and it is unclear where they are or what their status would now be.

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