April 14 (UPI) — President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump Monday at the White House.
The Trump administration has formed a firm alliance with Bukele, who has warmly accepted hundreds of migrants deported from the United States, with many placed in the Salvadorian prison known as the Center for Economic Cooperation and Development, or CECOT.
“We look forward to seeing President Bukele, of El Salvador, tomorrow in the White House,” Trump posted to his Truth Social account Sunday, along with a video that shows deportees being led into CECOT while subdued by law enforcement agents.
The video originated from the social media account of El Salvador’s Minister of Justice and Public Security Gustavo Villatoro, who posted the video to X on Sunday about five hours earlier, and said that Saturday “we received 10 MS-13 and Tren de Aragua criminals from [the Guantanamo Bay detention camp], who are now being held at the CECOT,” and added that “El Salvador continues to demonstrate its commitment to the fight against transnational terrorism.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Sunday that an additional 10 alleged “criminals from the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua Foreign Terrorist Organizations arrived in El Salvador,” and that Trump and Bukele’s alliance “has become an example for security and prosperity in our hemisphere.”
El Salvador has also received an updated Travel Advisory from the United States last week, that states visitors should “exercise normal precautions in El Salvador.”
“Gang activity has decreased over the last three years. This has caused a drop in violent crimes and murders,” it said.
Rubio announced with the updated advisory that Bukele’s “leadership has been crucial in improving the security of his country for foreign travelers, and that “gang activity, violent crime, and murders in El Salvador have significantly dropped.”
There have been no announcements in regard to whether the two leaders have plans to discuss Kilmar Abrego García, the Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to the CECOT in March.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing last week that “President Bukele will be here at the White House on Monday to talk about the cooperation that is at an all-time high,” but was unclear what Trump and Bukele plan to do about Garcia.
