El Salvador Offers to Accept U.S. Deportees of Any Nationality, Including American Criminals

In a groundbreaking development, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has proposed an unprecedented agreement to accept deportees from the United States, regardless of their nationality, including convicted American criminals. This offer was extended during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Bukele’s residence near San Salvador.

Details of the Proposal

President Bukele announced that El Salvador is willing to receive convicted criminals from the U.S., including U.S. citizens, into the country’s recently inaugurated mega-prison, the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). In exchange, the U.S. would pay a fee for each inmate housed. Bukele emphasized that while the fee would be relatively low for the U.S., it would significantly contribute to sustaining El Salvador’s prison system.

Secretary Rubio hailed the proposal as “the most unprecedented, extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world.” He noted that this arrangement would allow the U.S. to transfer dangerous criminals currently in custody, including those serving sentences, to El Salvador’s facilities.

Legal and Practical Considerations

While the offer includes accepting violent American criminals, U.S. law prohibits the deportation of its citizens unless they have committed offenses such as treason or fraudulently obtained citizenship. A U.S. official clarified that the current administration has no plans to deport American citizens but acknowledged the significance of Bukele’s offer.

The agreement also encompasses accepting non-Salvadoran migrants who have committed serious crimes in the U.S., particularly members of gangs like MS-13 and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua. This aspect of the deal could serve as an alternative for deporting individuals to countries unwilling to accept them.

Reactions and Implications

The proposal has elicited mixed reactions. Manuel Flores, secretary general of El Salvador’s opposition party Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, criticized the agreement, suggesting it positions the region as the U.S. government’s “backyard to dump the garbage.”

Human rights activists have also expressed concerns, pointing to El Salvador’s inconsistent policies regarding the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. They caution that the country’s prison system, despite recent expansions, may not be equipped to handle an influx of foreign inmates.

Background on El Salvador’s Mega-Prison

In 2023, El Salvador inaugurated the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca as part of a comprehensive crackdown on gang-related crime. Completed in seven months, the facility can accommodate up to 40,000 inmates and is considered one of the largest prisons in Latin America.