Photo from Trump’s tariffs have dominated the news recently, with staggered announcements of various rates for different countries causing chaos, confusion and economic uncertainty. While the US President has been focusing on financial matters recently, he’s taken time to deal with various other issues, including one relating to deportation. This was the focus of Bukele’s visit to the US to meet with the President.
Politics can be very unpredictable and ongoing matters such as immigration are fiercely debated by people on both sides of the political spectrum. Many people don’t just read about politics and discuss it, they gamble on it too. They join a betting site and place wagers on things like election results and referendum outcomes.
Why Bukele Visited Trump
Bukele’s meeting with Trump in the White House took place on 14 April. He was there to discuss matters relating to deportation and immigration. The two leaders have been allies for a good few months, with Bukele having previously allowed Trump to send over 200 Venezuelan immigrants accused of gang-related activities and violence, to CECOT.
Also known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, this is the largest prison in Latin America and one of the largest in the world by prisoner capacity (it can hold a maximum of 40,000 inmates). Bukele was behind the construction of the maximum security prison, which was constructed in 2022 and opened in 2023 as part of the government’s large-scale crackdown on El Salvador’s notorious gangs.
Bukele approved the sending of the Venezuelan immigrants to CECOT. During his meeting with Trump, he said that El Salvador is “eager to help” the US. The country accepted the Venezuelans for a year in a deal worth $6 million. Trump even put forward the idea of sending US citizens to CECOT, though he admitted there would be legal difficulties to overcome before that could happen.
Kilmar Ábrego García
During a press conference, Trump and Bukele were asked about Kilmar Ábrego García, a citizen of El Salvador who was deported from the US. The father of three lives in Maryland. His deportation has been described by the Trump government as an “administrative error”. There was a court order preventing his deportation, though it still went ahead.
Reporters at the White House were told by Attorney General Pam Bondi that it’s up to El Salvador to determine what happens to García next. Bukele said he doesn’t have the authority to return García to the US, so it’s not something he’s going to do. He said he doesn’t want to “smuggle a terrorist” into the US; García has been linked to the MS-13 gang, though he denies being a part of it.
The fact remains that García is an El Salvador citizen and the US doesn’t technically have the right to extradite him from his own country. As he’s on home soil, it’s entirely up to the El Salvador government whether he remains in CECOT for the duration of his sentence or he gets freed.
What further complicates matters is that the US Supreme Court has determined that Trump’s administration should facilitate the return of García. It remains to be seen whether Trump will make an effort to do this. If he’s legally required, there’s no telling how he might go about it. Whatever happens, it could be months or even years before García is returned, if that is even a possibility.
What Happens Next?
As well as García, Trump and Bukele discussed a range of other matters such as the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, DEI policies and Trump’s tariffs. Bukele is said to have been hoping for a reduction in El Salvador’s 10% tariff, though it’s not certain whether Trump will agree to this just yet.
As for García, despite objections to his deportation it seems likely that he’s going to remain in CECOT for the foreseeable future at least. Bukele doesn’t want to send him back to the US. While the US had admitted to mistakenly deporting him, it might not be able to bring him back.
It seems the relationship between Bukele and Trump is strong and hopefully this will be reflected in lower tariffs for El Salvador in the near future. CECOT has plenty of capacity, so there could well be more deportation deals that would see the US sending criminals to El Salvador.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cwy03j9vddlt
https://www.newsx.com/world/trump-bukele-meeting-at-white-house-today-heres-what-to-expect/#