Nayib Bukele Meets Trump at White House. WASHINGTON — In a high-profile meeting at the White House on Monday, President Donald Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele solidified a contentious immigration partnership, drawing sharp criticism from legal experts and human rights advocates.
The two leaders announced a broader agreement wherein the U.S. will provide $6 million to El Salvador to detain migrants accused of gang affiliations, including those without criminal convictions.
Trump suggested expanding this initiative to include American citizens convicted of violent crimes, proposing their incarceration in CECOT—a move legal scholars deem unconstitutional.
The meeting was held at the White House in Washington and was broadcast through official channels and various media outlets.
The two leaders, who referred to each other as friends, opened with a warm exchange of praise.
“It is an honor to have a friend of mine here,” said the U.S. president. “We went through this together and got along very well throughout my first term. I met him as a very young man… Mr. President, it is an honor to have you here.”
“Thank you. You are doing an incredible job for your country, and we appreciate working with you. You want to fight crime, and so do we. I want to say something to the people of El Salvador: you have a fantastic president. I mean it; I know him well,” said President Trump.
Trump remarked that he had first met Bukele when he was “very young—even younger than Marco Rubio,” the current Secretary of State. “Thank you for a great job,” he added.
Bukele responded in kind. “It’s an honor to be here in the Oval Office with the president and leader of the free world,” Bukele said.
“We are very pleased, and we are eager to help.” He noted that El Salvador, once labeled the world’s murder capital, is now described as “the safest country in the the Western Hemisphere.”
During a reported question, the discussion shifted to the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia, who has no criminal record, was transferred to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a facility notorious for detaining alleged gang members indefinitely.
When questioned about returning Abrego Garcia, Bukele dismissed the notion, stating, “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Of course, I’m not going to do it.” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi echoed this stance, asserting that the decision rests with El Salvador.
The Trump administration has acknowledged that the deportation was an administrative error but has shown little interest in rectifying it.
Legal experts argue that the administration’s refusal to comply with the Supreme Court’s directive to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. undermines the rule of law.
The partnership has drawn condemnation from human rights organizations, which highlight reports of abuses within CECOT, including arbitrary detentions and inhumane conditions.
Despite these concerns, Trump praised Bukele’s approach, stating, “He’s doing a fantastic job. Maybe we can learn something from El Salvador.”
As the alliance between Trump and Bukele deepens, critics warn of the erosion of legal norms and human rights protections, both domestically and internationally.
