US deports hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador despite court order
BBC News, Washington, DC
ReutersA plane carrying more than 200 Venezuelans has landed in El Salvador hours after a U.S. judge ordered the Trump administration not to do so.
El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele wrote on social media that 238 members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua arrived Sunday morning along with members of the international MS-13 gang.
After they arrived in Central American countries A federal judge blocks U.S. President Donald Trump from citing hundreds of years of wartime law To justify deportation – Buckler teased this in a later article.
“Oh… it’s too late,” he said.
The U.S. move to send alleged criminals from other countries to El Salvador is an arrangement previously called by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the most unprecedented and extraordinary immigration agreement anywhere in the world.
Boukler wrote that the detainees were immediately transferred to the “year-long year” of the Centre for Terrorism (CECOT) in El Salvador, which is “renewable” – suggesting they can last longer there.
He added: “The United States will pay them very low fees, but it’s high fees for us.”
Rubio confirmed the alleged gang members arrived in El Salvador and thanked Buckle, calling him “the most powerful security leader in our region.”
A few hours ago, on Saturday night, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg ordered the cessation of the deportation Trump announced, invoking the 1798 Alien Enemy Act.
The law allows the government to detain and deport people who threaten the country’s security without due process.
ReutersVenezuela criticized citing wartime measures, saying that “they will commit unfair criminal offenses” by “they will commit unjust criminal acts.”
Judge Boothberg ordered them to turn after hearing the deported plane take off, according to the Washington Post.
Rubio confirmed in a statement on Sunday that the deportation was conducted under the Foreign Enemy Act and did not mention the judge’s ruling.
“Hundreds of violent criminals have been sent out of our country,” he said.
A video attached to a social media post by Bukele shows armed officials accompanying their hands and feet from the plane.
Some detainees were placed in the back of the armored vehicles, while others were bent over and forced to board the bus when police pushed down.
The video also shows a long-standing police escort carrying the bus into El Salvador’s infamous giant Jere Secot.
The newly built Supreme Security Prison is a proud achievement of Bucker and part of his fight against organized crime in the country.
The facility can accommodate up to 40,000 people and has been criticized by human rights groups for crimes committed by crimes.
ReutersThe arrangement between the United States and El Salvador is a sign of strengthening diplomatic ties.
“Thank you for your assistance and friendship,” Rubio told Berkeley on Sunday.
El Salvador, the second Rubio, was the top American diplomat who visited after he was sworn in.
During that trip, Occurred in FebruaryBucker made a proposal to deport us, saying it would help pay for large-scale CECOT facilities.
Trump’s latest deportation under his second term is part of the president’s long-standing crusade against illegal U.S. immigration.
In January, Trump signed an executive order declaring Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as foreign terrorist groups.
He won voters on the campaign, partly because of his commitment to implementing the largest deportation action in U.S. history.
So far, the agenda has not met expectations, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have not met Trump’s arrest.
A recent report shows that compared with the previous year under Joe Biden, the number of immigrant deportations in February was less than the same period – 11,000 in February 2025, compared with 12,000 in February 2024, according to NBC News.
