A plane carrying over 200 Venezuelan deportees landed in El Salvador despite a last-minute ruling by a U.S. judge ordering the Trump administration to halt the removals.
El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, took to social media to announce the arrival of 238 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, along with 23 alleged members of Mexico’s MS-13, early Sunday morning.
Their arrival followed a federal court decision blocking President Donald Trump from using a historic wartime law to justify deportations—an order Bukele later mocked online.
"Oopsie… Too late," Bukele quipped.
The Salvadoran leader revealed that the detainees were immediately transported to the country’s high-security Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), where they would be held for at least a year—potentially longer under a renewable detention period.
"The United States will pay a very low price for them, but for us, the cost is high," Bukele remarked. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later confirmed the deportations and expressed gratitude to Bukele, hailing him as "the strongest security leader in our region."
Legal Battle and Defiant Deportations
Hours before the deportation flights took off, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued an order blocking removals covered under Trump’s recent proclamation, which invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. This law allows the government to detain and expel individuals deemed threats to national security without due process.
Despite the ruling, planes carrying deportees departed the U.S., prompting Judge Boasberg to issue an order demanding they be turned around, according to The Washington Post.
Rubio later confirmed that the deportations were executed under the Alien Enemies Act but made no reference to the judge’s ruling.
"Hundreds of violent criminals were removed from our country," Rubio stated.
Dramatic Arrival in El Salvador
Footage shared by Bukele showed detainees shackled at the hands and feet, escorted by armed personnel from the aircraft. Some were loaded onto armored vehicles, while others were forced onto buses with their heads pushed down by officers.
Aerial shots depicted a long convoy of security vehicles leading the detainees to Cecot, El Salvador’s controversial maximum-security prison. The facility, a cornerstone of Bukele’s crime crackdown, can hold up to 40,000 inmates but has faced criticism from human rights organizations for alleged mistreatment of prisoners.
Strengthening US-El Salvador Relations
The deportation agreement marks a deepening partnership between Washington and San Salvador. Rubio publicly thanked Bukele, saying, "Thank you for your assistance and friendship."
El Salvador was one of the first countries Rubio visited after assuming office as Secretary of State. During that February trip, Bukele had initially proposed accepting deportees, arguing that their arrival would help fund the Cecot mega-prison.
Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Faces Challenges
The deportations are part of Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement agenda. In January, he officially designated Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations, vowing to launch the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.
However, results have fallen short of expectations. Reports indicate that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed fewer immigrants in February than during the same period in 2024 under President Joe Biden—11,000 deportations compared to 12,000 the previous year.