On Saturday, we learned that Donald Trump had invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport violent members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA). Shortly after that, an Obama-appointed activist judge said not so fast and ordered for planes carrying these criminals to turn around.
As Matt Margolis wrote earlier, “Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, apparently more concerned with the rights of foreign criminals than American safety, issued a temporary restraining order against Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act. This centuries-old law has been successfully used by multiple presidents to protect our nation from genuine threats.”
But do you know who is not more concerned with the rights of criminals than the safety of the people of the United States and our allies in Central and South America? El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele.
Related: Who is Nayib Bukele?
On Sunday morning, Bukele reposted a headline from the New York Post about the situation and added three simple words: “Oopsie…Too late.” That’s because Trump and Secretary of State of Marco Rubio had already sent a lot of these gang members to El Salvador, where they’re being detained in the country’s infamous Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo — which means terrorism confinement center — or CECOT maximum security prison.
Oopsie…
Too late 😂 pic.twitter.com/nDHL6deLJq
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 16, 2025
Rubio also posted about it on X on Sunday morning. The U.S. sent over 238 members of TdA, as well as 23 members of the Salvadoran gang MS-13, including two dangerous leaders (all 23 were wanted in El Salvador). The U.S. will pay El Salvador a small fee that would allegedly be much cheaper than housing them in jails here, saving tax dollars money, and the gang members will stay in CECOT for at least a year.
We have sent 2 dangerous top MS-13 leaders plus 21 of its most wanted back to face justice in El Salvador. Also, as promised by @POTUS, we sent over 250 alien enemy members of Tren de Aragua which El Salvador has agreed to hold in their very good jails at a fair price that will…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 16, 2025
Bukele also posted a three-minute video of their arrival and what happens once they’re in his government’s custody. Honestly, the video looks like the promo for an A&E show that I would totally watch. Salvadoran police obviously do not take any crap from these guys, and the gang members are put to work to make the prison system self-sustainable.
Bukele, who has turned out to be an excellent ally for the United States, posted the following on X along with the video:
Today, the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country. They were immediately transferred to CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, for a period of one year (renewable).
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.
On this occasion, the U.S. has also sent us 23 MS-13 members wanted by Salvadoran justice, including two ringleaders. One of them is a member of the criminal organization’s highest structure.
This will help us finalize intelligence gathering and go after the last remnants of MS-13, including its former and new members, money, weapons, drugs, hideouts, collaborators, and sponsors.
As always, we continue advancing in the fight against organized crime. But this time, we are also helping our allies, making our prison system self-sustainable, and obtaining vital intelligence to make our country an even safer place. All in a single action.
May God bless El Salvador, and may God bless the United States.
You can watch the video here:
Today, the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country. They were immediately transferred to CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, for a period of one year (renewable).
The United States will pay a very low fee for them,… pic.twitter.com/tfsi8cgpD6
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 16, 2025
In turn, Rubio thanked Bukele for his “assistance and friendship.”
Thank you for your assistance and friendship, President Bukele. https://t.co/E6DrFLeU5F
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 16, 2025
As for Boasberg’s orders, NPR reports that it’s not clear whether U.S. courts have any jurisdiction over the gang members who now reside in El Salvador. The Justice Department says that the planes had already left U.S. territory after Boasberg made his order at 7:26 p.m. on Saturday evening.
In February, Rubio designated TdA as one of several “Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)” and as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).” The State Department described the gang as “a transnational organization that originated in Venezuela with cells in Colombia, Peru, and Chile, with further reports of sporadic presence in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Brazil. This brutal criminal group has conducted kidnappings, extorted businesses, bribed public officials, authorized its members to attack and kill U.S. law enforcement, and assassinated a Venezuelan opposition figure.”
Even the Joe Biden administration sanctioned TdA as a “Transnational Criminal Organization” last year.
In early February, during Rubio’s trip to El Salvador, Bukele told the secretary that the country would be more than happy to house dangerous criminals from any nation for the U.S. Looks like he’s making good on that promise.
This week, I’ll be going a bit more in depth, taking you inside El Salvador’s infamous CECOT prison and showing you exactly what happens there. Unfortunately, it will only be accessible to VIP members.
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