CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A two-year-old girl named Maikelys Espinoza arrived in Caracas on Wednesday, marking a reunion with her mother after being separated from her parents when they were deported from the United States. The Venezuelan government has labeled the separation as an act of kidnapping.

Maikelys landed at an airport outside the capital alongside over 220 other deported migrants. State television footage displayed Venezuela's First Lady, Cilia Flores, carrying Maikelys at the airport. Later, Flores was filmed handing the girl over to her mother, who awaited her at the presidential palace with President Nicolás Maduro.

“Here is everyone’s beloved little girl. She is the daughter and granddaughter of all of us,” said Maduro during the event.

The U.S. government claimed that the family separation was justified based on allegations that Maikelys’ parents possessed ties to the Venezuelan-based Tren de Aragua gang, which President Donald Trump designated as a terrorist organization earlier this year.

Maikelys' mother was deported back to Venezuela on April 25, while her father had been sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in March, invoked under Trump’s use of an 18th-century wartime law that targeted the deportation of numerous immigrants.

Historically, the Maduro administration had largely denied entry to immigrants deported from the U.S. However, following Trump's inauguration, hundreds of Venezuelan migrants have been expelled, including approximately 180 who faced 16 days at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Trump administration alleged that those Venezuelans sent to these locations were affiliated with the Tren de Aragua, yet has provided minimal evidence to substantiate these claims.

During the return ceremony, Maduro praised both President Trump and his envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, for enabling Maikelys' reunion with her mother, describing the act as “profoundly humane.” Grenell had met with Maduro in Caracas shortly after Trump assumed office.

“There have been and will be differences, but it is possible, with God’s blessing, to move forward and resolve many issues,” Maduro stated, alluding to the significant divisions between his administration and Trump’s. He expressed hope that the return of Maikelys' father, along with 253 other Venezuelans currently in El Salvador, could also soon be facilitated.