High-Profile Transfer Marks Major Development in Cross-Border Security Cooperation
In a significant development in transnational law enforcement, El Salvador has received more than 250 accused migrant gang members deported from the United States, with authorities immediately transferring them to the country’s infamous Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), widely known as a mega prison with harsh conditions.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele confirmed the transfer Sunday morning in a statement on social media platform X, detailing that the flight included 238 members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua and 23 members of MS-13, the notorious Salvadoran gang.
“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,” Bukele wrote.
Dramatic footage from the operation showed the extensive security measures in place during the transfer. Dozens of heavily armed Salvadoran commandos met the plane on the tarmac as it arrived. The chained suspects were forcibly moved to armored prison transports by guards in a carefully coordinated security operation that underscored the high-risk nature of the transfer.
Notorious detention facility
The CECOT facility where the deportees are now being held has gained international notoriety for its severe conditions. Reports over the years have documented that inmates are forced into labor during their incarceration, live in severely overcrowded cells, and that rival gang members frequently engage in deadly conflicts over necessities like food and water.
Of particular significance among the transferred individuals are two MS-13 ringleaders, with Bukele noting that “One of them is a member of the criminal organization’s highest structure.”
The transfer appears to be part of a broader security agreement between the United States and El Salvador. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who reportedly brokered the deal for El Salvador to house criminal migrants from the US, expressed gratitude to President Bukele for his “assistance and friendship.”
President Bukele framed the arrangement as mutually beneficial, stating: “El Salvador is committed to 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.”
He concluded his statement with: “May God bless El Salvador, and may God bless the United States.”
The operation marks a significant escalation in bilateral efforts to address transnational gang activity affecting both nations, particularly focusing on the Tren de Aragua and MS-13 criminal organizations that have been linked to violence and criminal enterprises across borders.