U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is traveling this week to El Salvador, Colombia, and Mexico. On Wednesday, Noem is scheduled to meet with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and tour the mega-prison CECOT, the Terrorist Confinement Center that is holding the 238 alleged Venezuelan gang members who were deported from the U.S. against a federal judge’s orders.
Noem wrote on X: “I will be in El Salvador seeing firsthand the detention center where the worst-of-the-worst criminals are housed.”
La secretaria de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos, Kristi Noem, llegó a El Salvador y fue recibida por el embajador estadounidense en el país, William Duncan. pic.twitter.com/Naxz1DLHW4
— Karla Veron (@Karla_veron1) March 26, 2025
Noem, who has been criticized for wearing ICE and other law enforcement branded clothing while in the field with official agents, landed in El Salvador wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, tie-string pants, combat boots and a baseball hat.
As seen above and below, she was greeted by U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador William Duncan, who wore a traditional business suit, as did his entourage.
SECRETARIA DE SEGURIDAD NACIONAL DE EEUU, KRISTI NOEM LLEGA A EL SALVADOR
La secretaria de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos, Kristi Noem, arribó este lunes a al país, donde fue recibida por el embajador estadounidense en el país, William Duncan.
La visita de Noem subraya… pic.twitter.com/d0od7KQ9jh
— Alerta Noticias (@alertanoti) March 26, 2025
(Note: Without revealing the cost, President Bukele said the U.S. is getting a good deal — “a very low fee for them” — for El Salvador to keep the 238 prisoners in custody for a year. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it “a fair price that will also save our taxpayer dollars.”)
WATCH: Venezuelan gang members deported by Trump arrive at mega-prison in El Salvador pic.twitter.com/roHGOuOePh
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 16, 2025
On Thursday, Noem travels to Colombia to meet with President Gustavo Petro, who in January initially barred two American military planes carrying Colombians deported from the U.S. from landing — before agreeing to accept them after President Trump threatened tariffs and changes were made in the way the deportees were treated.
On Friday, Noem will meet Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, who is suing Google for changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on its maps at President Trump’s request.
Five members of the U.S. press are traveling with Noem: Michelle Hackman, a reporter in The Wall Street Journal‘s Washington bureau who covers U.S. immigration policy; AP staff photographer Alex Brandon; and Fox News producers Krista Garvin, Ali Rad and Mahreon Johnson.
Note: Hackman’s most recently articles include ‘IRS Nears Deal to Share Data for Immigration Enforcement‘ (March 22); and Border Agents Use More Aggressive Tactics to Question Visa Holders, Tourists (March 20) which is subtitled: “In a string of recent cases, border authorities have detained U.S. tourist and work visa holders for lengthy periods after seemingly minor issues with their cases.”