SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) - The United States government reported on Friday that it is holding negotiations with El Salvador to revive an agreement that could allow it to send non-Salvadoran migrants to the Central American country.
However, this time the US government would also aim to send members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to Salvadoran prisons, commented Mauricio Claver-Carone, the special envoy for Latin America at the State Department, in a call with media.
Claver-Carone made these statements before Secretary of State Marco Rubio's tour of Latin America, which will begin in El Salvador on Monday. He will also travel to Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic.
Migration is the main topic on the agenda, and Rubio is likely to pressure allies like Bukele to help President Donald Trump's government in its campaign against migration and to accept migrants from countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba that largely do not accept deportation flights from the United States.
Claver-Carone provided few additional details on what "reviving" the agreement would entail.
What has the Bukele government done with the gangs?
The government of El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, carried out a harsh crackdown against the country's gangs, suspended constitutional rights in 2022, and arrested 84,000 people, more than 1% of the country's population. The majority of them remain in prison without being sentenced.
The repression has fueled criticism regarding human rights, but has resulted in a significant decrease in violence in El Salvador, which was once plagued by warring gangs Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18.
Despite concerns about democracy, Bukele has attracted the admiration of many figures from the American right. Simultaneously, the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has also become a keyword for Trump in speeches and among right-wing politicians.
"If we commit to revive this agreement and include members of the Tren de Aragua gang, I bet they will want to return to Venezuela instead of dealing with Mara's prisons in El Salvador," Claver-Carone said.
What is the "Safe Third Country" program?
During his first term, Trump implemented a program known as the "Safe Third Country".
This program required individuals to request protection status in countries considered "safe" that they passed through before reaching the United States border.
However, it was heavily criticized because it was seen as a way to cut off access for people to seek asylum in the United States. There were also concerns about the safety of vulnerable individuals in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, countries terrorized by gangs that often prey on vulnerable migrants.
Reviving the program would represent just the most recent action by Trump to reduce access to asylum after issuing a series of executive orders in his early days in office.
In the Friday call, Claver-Carone also commented that Bukele was "the most influential president in the region and an ally on migration issues."
Bukele has taken measures to prevent migrants from passing through the country on their way to the United States in response to pressure from the government of former President Joe Biden. As a result, the Biden administration moderated its criticism of Bukele after warning about a democratic setback in El Salvador.