Trump to host Bukele as US deportation deal with El Salvador faces growing scrutiny

US President Donald Trump is hosting his Salvadoran counterpart Nayib Bukele at the White House on Monday, as he seeks to deport more immigrants to the Central American nation that has become a cornerstone of his administration's expulsion drive.

Since March, Washington has transferred at least 200 mostly Venezuelan immigrants it accuses of gang membership and violent crimes to El Salvador, where they are being held in a maximum-security prison just outside the capital San Salvador.

The US government has offered little evidence for its claims that the immigrants are in fact gang members, nor has it released names of those deported. Lawyers and family members of the detainees say they are not part of gangs, and that they have not been granted the opportunity to contest the Trump administration's accusations in court.

One of those detainees is a Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose case hit headlines after US officials admitted that he was wrongly sent to El Salvador. Abrego Garcia — who was sent to the CECOT mega prison on 15 March despite an order protecting him from deportation — has not been returned to the US, even though courts have ruled he must be brought back.

The Trump administration confirmed on Saturday that Abrego Garcia remains at the mega prison, but did not address the demands of the district judge handling the case to outline what measures it was taking to return him to the US. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that the government must "facilitate and effectuate" Abrego Garcia's return.

The case is expected to be discussed between the two leaders at Monday's meeting in Washington, where Bukele will likely receive a warm welcome.

Trump and his inner circle have praised Bukele's government for taking "enemy aliens" and helping the US to "eradicate terrorist organisations".

Over the weekend, 10 more people who the Trump administration claims are members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs were sent to El Salvador, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Sunday.

The alliance between Trump and Bukele "has become an example for security and prosperity in our hemisphere," Rubio said.

Speaking to reporters travelling on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said Bukele was doing a "fantastic job".

"He’s taking care of a lot of problems that we have that we really wouldn’t be able to take care of from cost standpoint," Trump said.

"And he’s doing really, he’s been amazing. We have some very bad people in that prison. People that should have never been allowed into our country."

'Oopsie ... too late'

Bukele remains extremely popular in El Salvador due in part to his government's three-year crackdown on the country’s powerful street gangs, which has led to more than 84,000 arrests. Rights groups have criticised the anti-gang campaign for a lack of due process, harsh prison conditions and widespread abuses in custody, such as torture.

Under a deal struck between El Salvador and the US last month, Bukele's government is to receive about $6 million (€5.3 million) to imprison 300 alleged members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.

When a US federal judge last month ordered the Trump administration to turn around a flight carrying the immigrants already en route to El Salvador, Bukele wrote on social media: "Oopsie ... too late".

The Trump administration has used the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to justify the deportations. Hundreds have been transferred under this rarely used law, which permits the deportation of nationals from countries considered hostile during times of conflict.

At Monday's meeting, Bukele could also seek relief from Trump's 10% tariff, arguing that it harms the Salvadoran economy he is trying to bolster.

Bukele came to power in June 2019, in Trump’s first term, and had a straightforward relationship with the US leader. Trump was most concerned with immigration and, under Bukele, the number of Salvadorans heading for the US border declined sharply.