El Salvador Strikes Controversial Deal to House U.S. Criminals and Deportees

El Salvador has agreed to house violent criminals from the United States and accept deportees of any nationality, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday. The unprecedented deal, which has sparked legal and human rights concerns, was revealed following Rubio’s meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele as part of a regional tour to strengthen support for the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

According to the agreement, El Salvador will continue accepting deported Salvadoran nationals but will also receive non-Salvadoran criminals, including members of notorious gangs such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua. Additionally, Bukele has offered to house dangerous American criminals, including U.S. citizens and legal residents, in Salvadoran prisons for a fee.

The legal feasibility of this agreement remains uncertain. U.S. law prohibits the deportation of its own citizens, raising concerns about constitutional violations. Immigration law expert Leti Volpp of UC Berkeley noted that any effort to send incarcerated American citizens abroad would face significant legal challenges.

Bukele later confirmed the agreement on X, stating that his government is willing to accept only convicted criminals, including U.S. citizens, at the country’s largest prison.

The facility, designed to hold up to 40,000 inmates, has been central to Bukele’s aggressive crackdown on gang violence. While his security policies have dramatically lowered crime rates, they have also drawn condemnation from human rights organisations, which describe the prison conditions as inhumane.

The U.S. State Department has warned about harsh conditions in El Salvador’s prisons, highlighting severe overcrowding, lack of sanitation, and inadequate access to legal representation. Critics argue that transferring detainees to such facilities raises serious ethical and legal concerns.