Donald Trump was in high spirits on Sunday, 16 March, after a plane landed in El Salvador carrying 238 suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Despite a federal judge ruling against it, the Trump administration deported them to El Salvador\u2019s mega-prison, claiming the decision was made while the plane was already in international airspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump used an 18th-century wartime law to justify the move, arguing the U.S. faced an \u201cinvasion\u201d from a criminal group linked to kidnapping and contract killings. A deal between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele allowed the prisoners\u2019 transfer to the Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT), one of the world\u2019s largest maximum-security prisons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bukele posted images of the prisoners, writing, \u201cThe first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization have landed,\u201d adding that the U.S. would \u201cpay a very low fee for them, but a high one for us.\u201d He continued, \u201cWe are also helping our allies, making our prison system self-sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump praised Bukele on Truth Social, calling the inmates \u201cmonsters sent into our Country by Crooked Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats,\u201d adding, \u201cThank you to El Salvador\u2026 We will not forget.\u201d<\/p>\n