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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that “the alliance” between President Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador had “become an example for security and prosperity in our hemisphere.”
- April 13, 2025, 2:32 p.m. ET
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the United States had sent 10 members of two gangs — MS-13, which originated in the United States and operates in South America, and Tren de Aragua, rooted in Venezuela — to El Salvador late Saturday.
Mr. Rubio added in a social media post that “the alliance” between President Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador had “become an example for security and prosperity in our hemisphere.”
The Trump administration has sent hundreds of Venezuelans to a notorious prison in El Salvador at the invitation of Mr. Bukele, who is positioning himself as a crucial regional ally to Mr. Trump and is scheduled to meet with the president in Washington on Monday.
The administration has portrayed those deportees as violent criminals or terrorists, but court papers have shown that the evidence on which the government acted was often little more than whether they had tattoos or had worn clothing associated with the criminal organization.
Mr. Bukele has become Latin America’s most popular leader for his takedown of gangs, even as he has suspended civil liberties and been accused by U.S. prosecutors of secretly negotiating with the same gangs.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Bukele, Wendy Ramos, did not immediately respond to a request for information on the 10 deportees Mr. Rubio referred to.
