Toddler who was separated in the U.S. from her deported parents is back in Venezuela

Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald on May 14, 2025

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A 2-year-old Venezuelan girl who had been held in U.S. custody since late 2024 and remained in the U.S. after her parents were deported separately under controversial circumstances has been returned to Venezuela.

Maikelys Antonella Espinoza arrived in Venezuela on Wednesday aboard a repatriation flight carrying more than 225 migrants. Her return marks the latest chapter in a growing political standoff between the Trump administration and the regime of Nicolás Maduro, who has accused the United States of “kidnapping” the child and committing an “egregious abuse of human rights.”

The girl’s mother, Yorely Escarleth Bernal Inciarte, had been deported from the United States two weeks earlier after spending nearly 10 months in immigration detention. Her partner and Maikelys’ father, Maiker Espinoza Escalona, was sent to El Salvador’s maximum-security CECOT prison. Both parents have been accused by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of being members of Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezuelan gang with transnational ties.

Bernal Inciarte, Espinoza Escalona and their child entered the U.S. last year and were immediately separated after surrendering to authorities and sent to different detention centers. Their daughter was placed under government custody.

In an interview with ABC News in late April, Bernal Inciarte said she had video calls with her daughter and phone calls with Espinoza Escalona. Although the adults were placed in asylum proceedings, one of their attorneys told ABC News that they ultimately requested a deportation order to reunite with their child, who is not a U.S. citizen.

After the toddler’s parents were deported from the United States, the toddler remained in the care and custody of the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement and was placed with a foster family.

After describing the child’s return as a diplomatic victory, Maduro thanked the U.S. administration’s special envoy, Richard Grenell, and President Donald Trump for what he described as an “act of human justice.”

“I must express my gratitude for so many efforts, and I must also express my gratitude to Ambassador Richard Grenell, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, and to the president for achieving this act of human justice,” he said after greeting the toddler and her mother at the Miraflores Presidential Palace.

The statement marks a sharp turn around from the fiery speech Maduro gave during the recent May Day rally, where he denounced the family’s separation and accused the U.S. of targeting innocent migrants. “Her husband was unjustly sent to a concentration camp in El Salvador,” Maduro said. “He has no access to a judge or lawyer and has committed no crime there.”

Homeland Security officials have pushed back, describing both parents as dangerous affiliates of the Venezuelan gang. In a statement earlier this month, the agency alleged that Espinoza Escalona holds a leadership role in Tren de Aragua and was tied to violent crimes including homicide, human trafficking and drug operations. Bernal Inciarte, DHS claims, was involved in recruiting women for criminal activity. But the agency has released no public evidence to support the claims.

“The child’s father, Maiker Espinoza-Escalona, is a lieutenant of Tren de Aragua who oversees homicides, drug sales, kidnappings, extortion, sex trafficking and operates a torture house,” Homeland Security said in a press release in late April. “The child’s mother, Yorely Escarleth Bernal Inciarte, oversees recruitment of young women for drug smuggling and prostitution.”

The allegations and secrecy surrounding the case have sparked backlash from-human rights groups and Venezuelan authorities. Last week, Venezuela’s Supreme Court declared Maikelys’s detention in the U.S. “illegal” and ordered her immediate return to her mother. The court instructed the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry to use all available legal and diplomatic means to secure the child’s release.

During his weekly broadcast "Con Maduro+," the Venezuelan strongman reiterated his condemnation of the U.S. justice system. “What are they going to accuse her of? That the child is with Tren de Aragua?” he said. “This is a gross violation of the rights of a two-year-old girl.”

Speaking to reporters after an International Workers’ Day rally, Bernal Inciarte denied any connection to criminal groups. “I am not a criminal,” she said. “I have no criminal record in Venezuela or the United States.”

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