The largest group of people with protection under the program, at around 350,000 holders, comes from Venezuela, due to economic devastation and political repression under the Maduro regime, according to the Times.

Electoral authorities loyal to President Nicolás Maduro announced him the victor, but the claim has been widely rejected by the international community.

Maduro is set to begin his third six-year term in January.

Francis was returned to California last December under a prisoner swap between the US and Venezuela that saw Washington release an ally of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in exchange for 10 American detainees.

We have a couple of examples there: Nayib Bukele, Nicolás Maduro and Fidel Castro.