The United States has deported more than 200 Venezuelans suspected of being gang members to El Salvador, despite a court order temporarily stopping the removals.
El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, announced on Sunday that 238 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and 23 members of MS-13 had arrived in the country.
However, neither the US nor El Salvador provided evidence to prove the deportees were gang members.
The deportations happened just hours after US District Judge James Boasberg issued a 14-day suspension of removals under an order signed by President Donald Trump. The Trump administration had used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify the deportations, accusing Tren de Aragua of being a threat to the US.
However, the judge’s order came after the deportation flights had already left. Bukele appeared to mock the timing, writing on social media, “Oopsie… Too late.” He also shared a video showing deportees in shackles being escorted by security officers.
White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, denied claims that the administration ignored the court ruling. “The administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order. The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA [Tren de Aragua] aliens had already been removed from US territory,” she said.
Reports from US media revealed that Judge Boasberg verbally ordered the return of the flights, but this was not included in his written ruling. The Justice Department later argued in court that the ruling was pointless since the deportees had already been removed.
A senior administration official told CBS News that 261 people were deported on Saturday, with 137 of them linked to alleged gang activities. The Justice Department has appealed the court’s decision.
Human rights groups have condemned the deportations, with Amnesty International USA calling it “yet another example of the Trump administration’s racist targeting” of Venezuelans “based on sweeping claims of gang affiliation.”
The Venezuelan government also criticised the move, accusing the US of “unjustly criminalising Venezuelan migration” and comparing it to “the darkest episodes in history, from slavery to the horror of Nazi concentration camps.”
Meanwhile, President Bukele confirmed that the deportees were immediately taken to the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), a controversial mega-prison in El Salvador with a capacity of 40,000 inmates. He stated that they would be held for “a period of one year,” which could be extended.
The deportation deal shows growing ties between the US and El Salvador. In February, Bukele had offered to accept deportees and help offset the costs of the Cecot prison during a visit from US diplomat Marco Rubio.
This latest move is part of Trump’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration. In January, he signed an order declaring Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as foreign terrorist organisations.
Although illegal border crossings have dropped since he took office, reports suggest he is frustrated by the slow pace of deportations despite promising the largest removal operation in US history.
