The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, announced that a group of 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua has been transferred to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador. Bukele specified that these individuals will be at the CECOT for one year, with the possibility of renewal, and that the United States will pay a low fee for their detention, but economically benefiting the Central American country.
Bukele emphasized that this transfer included 23 members of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) wanted by Salvadoran justice, among whom were two important leaders of the gang. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the transfer was carried out under the Foreign Enemy Act, recently invoked.
The Salvadoran president explained that this measure will help the self-sustainability of the Salvadoran prison system, which currently costs $200 million annually. According to Bukele, the United States will pay a low amount for the accommodation at the CECOT, but significant for El Salvador.
Rubio praised Bukele's cooperation and mentioned that the Salvadoran president offered to keep the Tren de Aragua members in high-quality prison facilities at a fair cost. This action will expedite deportations against members of this organization, considered a foreign terrorist group by the United States since February.
Despite the implementation of this law, the Salvadoran government has not accurately detailed under what legal framework the incarceration of these individuals has taken place, as they do not have criminal records in El Salvador. Furthermore, they have not specified whether the exception regime in effect since March 2022, which suspends certain constitutional guarantees to combat local gangs, has been applied to them.
