In a recent meeting, President Donald Trump’s top advisers and Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, announced that there is no basis for returning a Maryland man wrongly deported to El Salvador last month.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the deportee, was sent to a notorious gang prison in El Salvador, igniting concerns over his safety and the legality of his deportation.
Administration officials clarified that Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador and that the U.S. has no authority over his future there.
Bukele responded bluntly, stating, “of course I’m not going to” release him back to U.S. soil.
“The question is preposterous,” he stated. “I don’t have the power to return him to the United States.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi mentioned that should El Salvador decide to return Abrego Garcia, the U.S. would facilitate it by providing a plane.
However, she added, “He was illegally in our country.”
This meeting arises amid a significant collaboration between the Trump administration and El Salvador regarding mass deportations.
Since March, the Salvadoran government has accepted over 200 Venezuelan immigrants from the U.S., whom administration officials have accused of gang activity and violent crimes.
These individuals have been placed inside a maximum-security gang prison near San Salvador, alongside Abrego Garcia, who remains there despite court orders for his return to the U.S.
Bukele has become a vital ally for the Trump administration, largely due to his tough stance on gangs, which has earned him popularity in El Salvador.
The Trump administration has provided little evidence to support claims that the Venezuelan immigrants are indeed gang members and has not released their names.
When asked if he had concerns about the prison conditions where deportees are being held, Trump praised Bukele’s handling of the situation, saying, “He’s doing really, he’s been amazing.”
Trump asserted that El Salvador is dealing with significant problems that the U.S. could not manage from a cost perspective.
El Salvador’s government has arrested more than 84,000 individuals as part of Bukele’s extensive three-year crackdown on gang activity.
Under a recent agreement, the U.S. will provide roughly $6 million for El Salvador to house the imprisoned Venezuelan immigrants for one year.
Bukele has used social media to express his commitment to assisting the Trump administration with its deportation plans.
When a federal judge ruled against the Trump administration, which was attempting to turn around a deport flight headed to El Salvador, Bukele cheekily remarked, “Oopsie … too late.”
Despite lower courts siding against the administration, the U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld Trump’s ability to use the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century wartime law, for deportations.
While the justices insisted that the immigrants should have court hearings before being removed from the U.S., Trump’s administration continues to facilitate the deportation of those considered gang members.
On a recent weekend, Trump Administration officials announced the arrival of 10 more individuals in El Salvador, who the administration claims are affiliated with the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs, as noted by Senator Marco Rubio.
Rubio remarked on the positive cooperation with other countries willing to accept dangerous criminals.
He expressed gratitude towards Bukele, stating, “Bukele has really been a good friend to the United States in that regard.”
Trump has indicated his willingness to consider sending American citizens who have committed violent crimes to El Salvador, noting his preference to act according to the law.
However, it is still unclear how U.S. citizens could be lawfully deported to another nation.
Trump emphasized the severity of crimes committed by such individuals, suggesting they would be
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