More than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang were expelled by the United States and sent to Salvador where they were taken to a high security prison, the president of Salvador said on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump invoked the extraterrestrial enemy law of 1798 on Friday to quickly expel the alleged members of Tren from Aragua, a criminal organization that was linked to removal, extortion, organized crime and contractual killings.
A day later, a federal judge in Washington, DC, blocked the application of the law for 14 days, affirming that the status refers to “hostile acts” perpetrated by another country which is “proportionate to war”.
Salvador President Nayib Bukele said in an article on the X social media network that 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan gang had arrived in his country and had been transferred to the center of confinement of terrorism – a mega -prison who can contain up to 40,000 detainees – for a period of one year which could be renewed.
The moment when the flights carrying the alleged gang members left the United States and arrived in Salvador remained fuzzled, but an X Post in Bukele suggested that he was underway before the ordinance of the US judge.
“Oopsie … Too late,” said Bukele in response to order.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an X post than more than 250 alleged members of Tren of Aragua had been sent to Salvador.
The American Department of Internal Security, the State Department and the Salvadoran government have not immediately responded to requests for comments.
The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he rejected the use of the “anachronistic” American law to expel members of alleged gangs, saying that he had violated the rights of migrants.
Bukele and Rubio said the United States also sent 23 members of the Salvadoral Gang MS-13 in Salvador.
The Associated Press reported on Saturday that the United States had agreed to pay El Salvador $ 6 million to imprison 300 alleged members of Tren of Aragua for a year.
The Extraterrestrial Enemies Act – Better known for its use to justify internment camps for people of Japanese, German and Italian origin during the Second World War – would leave the Trump administration bypass the American immigration courts and quickly remove migrants.
The Trump Administration appealed against the legal decision on Saturday at the American Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia.
