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(Bloomberg) — Deportation flights from the US will resume on Sunday after an agreement was reached between the two governments, according to a top Venezuelan official. 

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“Migrating is not a crime and we will not rest until we achieve the return of all those who require it,” head negotiator Jorge Rodríguez said in a post shared on social media where he indicated the first flight will be on March 23. 

The announcement comes as US President Donald Trump’s administration is poised to allow Chevron to continue operating in Venezuela for at least another 30 days beyond a deadline imposed earlier this month. The company had faced a deadline for wrapping up operations there on April 3. 

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The government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had briefly halted acceptance of US deportation flights in retaliation for the move against Chevron. 

The White House didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

Maduro is anxious that Washington continue to allow Chevron to function in the country, since the oil major now supplies about one-fifth of Venezuela’s crude output and generates a significant proportion of the economy’s hard currency. 

Trump is ratcheting up pressure on Maduro to quickly make a deal over democratic reforms and accepting the return of more Venezuelans who had migrated to the US. In the space of a few years, the US president has gone from threatening sanctions unless Maduro resigns to threatening sanctions unless Venezuela agrees to deportation flights, according to Geoff Ramsey, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington. 

“At this point, it seems almost certain that the wind-down deadline for Chevron will be extended, and perhaps, in time, become permanent,” Ramsey said. 

He added: “The White House seems to be acknowledging a sad truth: The Maduro government is not weak and is not going anywhere anytime soon, and if Washington wants to advance certain immigration and energy interests, it needs to reach some basic agreements with the authoritarian government in Caracas.”

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While Trump envoy Ric Grenell and Venezuela’s Rodríguez had initially said flights would resume as of March 14, Sunday’s deportation flight from the US would be the first to arrive. It comes after more than 200 Venezuelans were deported by the US to a notorious prison in El Salvador last week, accusing them of membership of the Tren de Aragua gang.

Separately, Venezuela last week received a flight with 311 of its migrants coming from Mexico after reaching a deal with the Mexican government.

Read also: Venezuela Pledges to Free Those Deported to El Salvador Jail

—With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron.

(Adds analyst comment starting in seventh paragraph.)

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