Venezuelan Toddler Reunited Amid Deportation Outcry

Maikelys Antonella Espinoza Bernal, a two-year-old Venezuelan girl who remained in U.S. custody after her parents were separately deported, has been reunited with her mother in Venezuela amid significant public outrage and diplomatic tensions. Her father was deported to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, while her mother returned to Venezuela in April. U.S. authorities justified the family separation with unsubstantiated allegations of the parents' links to the Tren de Aragua gang. The case drew criticism from immigrant rights groups and sparked protests in Venezuela, which accused the U.S. of 'kidnapping' the child. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro thanked U.S. President Donald Trump and his envoy for returning the child, calling it a humane gesture. The incident underscores the ongoing disputes over U.S. deportation policies, including the use of historical wartime laws and mass deportations of Venezuelan migrants.