U.S. President Donald Trump thanked the President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele on March 16 for “taking in” 238 alleged Venezuelan gang members deported from the U.S. by military aircraft. Trump wrote on Truth Social: “We will not forget.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also praised Bukele on X by writing: “We have sent 2 dangerous top MS-13 leaders plus 21 of its most wanted back to face justice in El Salvador. Also…we sent over 250 alien enemy members of Tren de Aragua which El Salvador has agreed to hold in their very good jails at a fair price that will also save our taxpayer dollars.”
According to Bukele, El Salvador will hold the 238 people at the country’s Terrorism Confinement Center for a period of one year which may be renewed.
Bukele wrote: “The United States will pay a very low fee for them, but a high one for us. Over time, these actions, combined with the production already being generated by more than 40,000 inmates engaged in various workshops and labor under the Zero Idleness program, will help make our prison system self-sustainable. As of today, it costs $200 million per year.”
Today, the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country. They were immediately transferred to CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, for a period of one year (renewable).
The United States will pay a very low fee for them,… pic.twitter.com/tfsi8cgpD6
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 16, 2025
U.S. Judge James Boasberg, who ruled that deportation flights to El Salvador must return to America, has requested information from the U.S. federal government regarding the identities of the 238 people in custody at the mega-prison in El Salvador. Balking at Boasberg’s request, the Trump administration claims providing such information to the judge is a national security risk.
American attorney John Elwood, head of Arnold & Porter’s Appellate and Supreme Court practice –who has argued nine cases before the Supreme Court of the United States — responded to the Trump administration’s unwillingness to fulfill the judge’s request.
The claim that info Judge Boasberg requested at today’s hearing is sensitive national security information seems hard to square with Rubio tweeting about destination & prisoner numbers. I found the planes’ “tail numbers” w/a 30-second search. Anyone can follow on FlightRadar24. https://t.co/Ev2LsobMmL pic.twitter.com/iNHFfEswVI
— John Elwood (@johnpelwood) March 17, 2025
Elwood wrote on X: “The claim that info Judge Boasberg requested at today’s hearing is sensitive national security information seems hard to square with Rubio tweeting about destination & prisoner numbers. I found the planes’ ‘tail numbers’ w/a 30-second search. Anyone can follow on FlightRadar24.”