Mexico City, Mexico – Over the weekend, the United States government deported over 238 Venezuelan nationals they accused of being active ‘Tren de Aragua’ gang members and sent them to El Salvador’s Cecot prison facility, drawing international revile.
The ousted Venezuelan immigrants will be incarcerated in one of El Salvador’s largest prisons without trial and in spite of a judiciary order that impeded their deportation by a U.S. judge.
The Venezuelans were deported under the ‘Alien Enemies Act,’ a late 18th century legislation enacted to oust foreigners deemed as a threat to national security during times of war.
Through a press release, the White House declared that the Tren de Aragua was currently invading U.S. territory.
“President Donald J. Trump signed a Proclamation Invoking the Alien Enemies Act regarding the Invasion of the United States by the Foreign Terrorist Organization Tren De Aragua, using his core powers as President and Commander-in-Chief to defend the American People from an urgent threat,” read the statement.
Washington D.C. Federal District Court Judge James E. Boasberg on Saturday issued a temporary restraining order to bar the government from deporting the people, citing that he didn’t believe the 1798 Alien Enemies Act allowed for the administration’s intended use.
Three planes carrying migrants took off from the U.S. on their way to El Salvador and – despite the judges’ direction to turn the planes around – landed in El Salvador. It is still unclear the timing of the departure of the planes, which is important because it could mean the Trump administration defied a federal court order.
South of the border, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele quipped at the U.S. judiciary’s attempt to return the planes carrying the deported migrants, writing, “Oopsie…Too late,” on his X account on Sunday morning.
He later posted a video of plane passengers being forcefully removed from the plane by heavily armed security forces.
The populist leader, who famously called himself the world’s coolest dictator, 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.”
Bukele had previously brokered a USD $6 million deal with the U.S. in exchange for receiving 300 Venezuelan nationals in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT).
The “megaprison” is cited to hold up to 40,000 inmates, reaching 236,000 square meters. Inmates are completely incommunicado since prisoners cannot reach out or receive visits from friends and family, and its secretive nature has drawn stark criticism from human rights advocates.
On Monday, President of Venezuela’s National Assembly Jorge Rodríguez condemned the expedited and brutish incarceration of the hundreds of Venezuelan nationals as a “vulgar kidnapping,” and questioned their incarceration in El Salvador.
“None of the Venezuelans taken to El Salvador have committed any crime at all in El Salvador, so why are they there? They have not committed any crime, or at least no crime has been proven against them, in the United States of America, because they have been denied the right to due process,” he said.
During a press conference, Rodríguez said he would request President Nicolás Maduro to issue an official warning for Venezuelans looking to travel to the U.S.
“We are going to ask President Nicolás Maduro to issue a request that no Venezuelan travel to the United States because it is not safe at this moment,” he stated.
Featured image credit: via Nayib Bukele X account
