Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele for accepting foreign gang members for detention in his country as the Trump administration aims to crack down on foreign gangs.
The acceptance of roughly 250 Tren de Aragua members to Salvadoran prisons comes the same weekend President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport all members of the gang in the United States. Rubio said that, as part of the transfer of prisoners, the United States handed over 23 MS-13 members wanted for alleged crimes in El Salvador.
We have sent 2 dangerous top MS-13 leaders plus 21 of its most wanted back to face justice in El Salvador. Also, as promised by @POTUS, we sent over 250 alien enemy members of Tren de Aragua which El Salvador has agreed to hold in their very good jails at a fair price that will…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 16, 2025
“We have sent 2 dangerous top MS-13 leaders plus 21 of its most wanted back to face justice in El Salvador. Also, as promised by @POTUS, we sent over 250 alien enemy members of Tren de Aragua which El Salvador has agreed to hold in their very good jails at a fair price that will also save our taxpayer dollars,” Rubio wrote on X on Sunday morning.
“President @nayibbukele is not only the strongest security leader in our region, he’s also a great friend of the U.S. Thank you!” Rubio added.
Bukele also confirmed the transfer of prisoners in an X post on Sunday, saying they had been sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center for a one-year period that can be renewed. The Salvadoran president said the fee being charged to the U.S. is a “very low fee for them, but a high one for us.”
Today, the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country. They were immediately transferred to CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, for a period of one year (renewable).
The United States will pay a very low fee for them,… pic.twitter.com/tfsi8cgpD6
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 16, 2025
“As always, we continue advancing in the fight against organized crime. But this time, we are also helping our allies, making our prison system self-sustainable, and obtaining vital intelligence to make our country an even safer place. All in a single action. May God bless El Salvador, and may God bless the United States,” Bukele said.
FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS TWO-WEEK STOP ON TRUMP DEPORTATIONS TARGETING TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBERS
The agreement allowing the U.S. to send criminal foreign gang members to El Salvador was announced last month, specifically targeting the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua.
Trump’s Saturday invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 against Tren de Aragua gang members was paused by a federal judge who expressed concern over the irreparable harm Venezuelans could face from the sweeping order.
