Item 1 of 10 Salvadoran police escort alleged members of the Tren de Aragua, San Luis Talpa. Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via REUTERS
[1/10]Salvadoran police escort alleged members of the Tren de Aragua, San Luis Talpa. Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
WASHINGTON, March 16 – More than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang have been deported by the U.S. and sent to El Salvador where they were taken to a high-security prison, the Salvadoran president said on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport alleged members of Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that has been linked to kidnapping, extortion, organized crime and contract killings.
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A day later, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., blocked the application of the law for 14 days, saying the statute refers to “hostile acts” perpetrated by another country that are “commensurate to war.”
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said in a post on the X social media network that 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan gang had arrived in his country and were transferred to the Terrorism Confinement Center – a mega-prison that can hold up to 40,000 inmates – for a one-year period that could be renewed.
The timing of when the flights carrying the alleged gang members departed the U.S. and arrived in El Salvador remained unclear, but an X post by Bukele suggested it was underway before the U.S. judge’s order.
“Oopsie…too late,” Bukele posted in response to the order.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an X post that more than 250 alleged members of Tren de Aragua had been sent to El Salvador.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and the Salvadoran government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government said it rejected the use of the “anachronistic” U.S. law to deport alleged gang members, saying it violated migrants’ rights.
Both Bukele and Rubio said the U.S. had also sent 23 members of the Salvadoran gang MS-13 to El Salvador.
The Associated Press reported on Saturday that the U.S. had agreed to pay El Salvador $6 million to imprison 300 alleged members of Tren de Aragua for one year.
The Alien Enemies Act – best known for its use to justify internment camps for people of Japanese, German and Italian descent during World War Two – would let the Trump administration bypass U.S. immigration courts and speedily remove the migrants.
The Trump administration has filed an appeal against Saturday’s legal decision at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Reporting by Ted Hesson and David Ljunggren; Editing by Louise Heavens, Michelle Nichols and Bernadette Baum
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Ted Hesson is an immigration reporter for Reuters, based in Washington, D.C. His work focuses on the policy and politics of immigration, asylum and border security. Prior to joining Reuters in 2019, Ted worked for the news outlet POLITICO, where he also covered immigration. His articles have appeared in POLITICO Magazine, The Atlantic and VICE News, among other publications. Ted holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and bachelor’s degree from Boston College.
