During the night of last Sunday, March 16, 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Aragua train and 23 supposed mareros of the Central American Criminal Band Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) were received at the Center for Confinement of Terrorism, better known as CECOTlocated in El Salvador.
Submitted by security agents, handcuffed Hands and chained of the feet, this descended each of the criminals deported by the United States and sent to the megacárcel of the Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who considers it “A symbol of the fight against gangs” internationally.
So far, the identities of the deportees have not been made public or evidence of their relationship with criminal gangs has been shown. However, the Republican president Donald Trump assures that these people are “the Monsters sent to North America by the corrupt Joe Biden and the Democrats left ”.
Given this situation, the president of the United States thanked Bukele “for understanding this horrible situation that came because of the Democratic incompetence.” However, the Salvadoran president’s decision to receive Trump’s deportees generated international controversy and many wonder: Why did he?
Economic benefit
As mentioned by the Salvadoran President, “the United States will pay a fee so that El Salvador keeps criminals ”, so the Central American country will receive a Economic benefit For accepting the deportees and Bukele expects those funds to help the Salvadoran prison system become self -sustainable.
“It is an unprecedented agreement, perhaps the most extraordinary in the world,” said the Secretary of State, Marco Rubiowho agreed to pay US $ 20 thousand (Q154 thousand) for each prisoner from the United States per year, which would add up to approximately US $ 6 million (Q46 million) for all deportees who arrived in El Salvador.
Trump Donald Trust
For supporting President Donald Trump in his battle against irregular immigration and criminal gangs, Nayib Bukele has become “a regional model” model for the Republican president, according to Secretary Marco Rubio, who also considers the Salvadoran “The strongest leader in security of our entire region.”
“President Nayib Bukele is a Great friend from the United States, ”added Rubio, so it is speculated that there will be little or no opposition to the Salvadoran model from the American nation, unlike previous years, when Joe Biden spoke against the Violations to human rights and democracy in El Salvador.
Fight criminal gangs
Since the beginning of his first term, President Bukele has considered that one of the most important aspects is to combat the criminal gangs of El Salvador, especially the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), because “the“ the atrocities that that criminal gang committed must be prosecuted; There must be justice for victims. ”
However, according to the news portal BBC Worlddeportations could mute To the leaders of the MS-13, who could testify on the alleged agreements of the criminal gang with the Nayib Bikele government, despite the fact that the Salvadoran president has always denied the existence of said talks.
British media refers to what happened in April 2022, when El Salvador suffered 77 murders in less than 48 hours and according to the investigations of the Prosecutor’s Office American, “the wave of homicides was the product of the rupture of an alleged pact between the Bukele government and the Mara Salvatrucha.”
Today, The First 238 Members of the Venezuelan Criminal Organization, Aragua Train, Arrived in Our Country. They were immedialy 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