El Salvador agrees to accept US deportees of any nationality following meeting with Rubio
FOX News20 hrs
El Salvador Offers to House US Criminals
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Above: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) meets with El Salvador Pres. Nayib Bukele on Feb. 3, 2025. Image copyright: Mark Schiefelbein/Contributor/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
The Facts
Following a meeting with El Salvador Pres. Nayib Bukele on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed that El Salvador has offered to house convicted criminals from the US, including American citizens, in the country's mega-prison facility, Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), in exchange for a fee.
Rubio described the agreement as "the most unprecedented and extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world." El Salvador would accept deportees of any nationality, particularly members of criminal gangs, including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.
El Salvador would charge the US a fee that Bukele described as "relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable."
The Spin
Republican narrative
This is a groundbreaking solution to America's immigration challenges, helping Pres. Donald Trump fulfill his promise to rid the US of dangerous criminals, and do it in a cost-effective manner. Bukele has transformed El Salvador into one of the region's safest countries and now he can help the US be safer as well.
Democratic narrative
The proposal is likely unconstitutional and raises several issues related to international law. El Salvador's prisons are known for their human rights abuses, including mental and physical torture, and it's unthinkable that the US would send anyone to them in agreement with an authoritarian regime.
