El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has agreed to accept deported illegal migrants and violent criminals of any nationality from the United States, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday.
“(Bukele) has agreed to accept for deportation any illegal alien in the United States who is a criminal from any nationality, be they MS-13 or Tren de Aragua, and house them in his jails,” Rubio said following a meeting with the Salvadorean leader.
Rubio added that Bukele also “offered to house in his jails dangerous American criminals in custody in our country, including those of U.S. citizenship and legal residents.”
“No country’s ever made an offer of friendship such as this,” Rubio said.
Bukele said in a post on social media platform X that he offered the U.S. the chance to “outsource part of its prison system.”
“We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee,” Bukele said.
“The fee would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable,” he added.
Bukele in June won a second term as president. His successful but controversial crackdown on criminal gangs that had terrorized the Central American country for decades was seen as key to his electoral success. As crime fell, Bukele’s popularity soared.
Activists denounce arbitrary arrests and other human rights violations.
The country of some 6 million people had the highest murder rate in the world a few years ago. Since the crackdown, the number has dropped significantly.
The issue of migration plays a central role in Rubio’s trip to Central America. He visited Panama over the weekend. After his visit to El Salvador, Rubio will also visit Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.
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