SAN SALVADOR/WASHINGTON, March 17 – The United States has deported 238 alleged members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele said on Sunday, despite a U.S. court order temporarily suspending the expulsions.
The deportations took place after President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a rarely used wartime law allowing the detention or expulsion of foreign nationals deemed a threat. The move drew sharp criticism from Venezuela’s government, which accused Trump of “criminalizing” migrants and violating international law.
“Oopsie … Too late,” Bukele wrote on social media, mocking the court ruling that attempted to block the expulsions. He also shared footage of shackled detainees being transferred under heavy security, with images showing prisoners’ heads being shaved upon arrival.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt defended the move, saying Trump was “using his core powers as president and commander-in-chief to defend the American people from an urgent threat.” The Trump administration said it would appeal the court ruling.
Bukele said the U.S. would pay El Salvador a “very low fee” to house the prisoners, though neither he nor U.S. officials disclosed the amount. The move follows discussions between Bukele and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month, in which El Salvador offered to detain U.S. prisoners, including members of Tren de Aragua and the Salvadoran MS-13 gang. The controversial wartime authority has been invoked only three times before, including during World War I and II.
