President Trump welcomed El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to the White House Monday, cementing their partnership in America’s new and aggressive deportation policies.
Mr. Bukele has accepted over 200 migrants from the United States to his country’s maximum security prison.
Mr. Trump greeted Mr. Bukele outside the White House and shook his hand. He pumped his fist while Mr. Bukele waved to the press.
Mr. Trump praised Mr. Bukele for the partnership between the two countries in a Truth Social post on Saturday.
“Our nations are working closely together to eradicate terrorist organizations, and build a future of Prosperity,” he wrote. “President Bukele has graciously accepted into his Nation’s custody some of the most violent alien enemies of the World and, in particular, the United States.”
“These barbarians are now in the sole custody of El Salvador, a proud and sovereign Nation, and their future is up to President B and his Government,” Mr. Trump said. “They will never threaten or menace our Citizens again!”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing Friday that the two leaders will discuss “the cooperation that is at an all-time high.”
Mr. Bukele, who calls himself the “world’s coolest dictator,” was first elected president of El Salvador in 2019. He won reelection in 2024 with over 80% of the vote.
He has been strong in cracking down on the gangs in his country, leading to a decrease in violent crime.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in February that Mr. Bukele agreed to take deportees from the U.S. of any nationality “in an act of extraordinary friendship to our country, knowing the challenges we face in the U.S., has agreed to the most unprecedented and extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world.”
He also agreed to accept “dangerous American criminals in custody in our country, including those of U.S. citizenship and legal residents.”
Most notably, the U.S. wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who was approved for deportation in 2019 but not to his home country because of the possibility he would be tortured.
The Supreme Court has said the U.S. must facilitate his return.
He was sent on one of the three planes to El Salvador that contained members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs. Mr. Abrego Garcia maintains that he is not a member of MS-13, but an immigration judge from 2019 has said otherwise.
The Trump administration has admitted that he was wrongfully deported but has not committed to making moves to get him back. But Mr. Trump on Friday said he would follow the high court’s ruling.
“If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court,” he said.
Mr. Bukele has joked about Mr. Abrego Garcia’s deportation. In response to a social media post sharing that a judge had ordered the Trump administration to bring him back, he posted a GIF of a confused cartoon bunny.
