WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States government said on Monday that it deported another 17 “violent criminals” allegedly belonging to the Aragua Train and MS-13 gangs to El Salvador, as part of a policy to expel individuals to countries other than their own, despite criticism for lack of transparency and human rights issues.
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The US State Department said that the migrants were expelled on Sunday night. The statement asserts that among them there were murderers and rapists, but it does not provide details about the nationalities or alleged crimes of those expelled.
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The office of the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, indicated that among them there were Salvadorans and Venezuelans.
“These criminals will no longer terrorize our communities and citizens,” said the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio. “Once again, we extend our gratitude to President Bukele and the government of El Salvador for their unparalleled collaboration.”
How did this new deportation to El Salvador occur?
The State Department reported that the men were transferred to El Salvador by the United States military. As seen in a video from the Salvadoran government, they were transported by bus to the maximum-security prison in El Salvador, where they were changed into standard white prison clothing and had their heads shaved.
The video shows that they were taken by the guards to a block of cells, and some were forced to kneel on the floor with their wrists handcuffed behind their backs and their ankles chained. The guards placed one or both hands on the men’s necks and forced them to walk quickly while bent over and chained. Some men in the video groaned from the effort, and one seemed to vomit on the floor while listening to instructions.
More than 200 Venezuelan migrants were sent by the United States to El Salvador days ago and are also being detained in a maximum-security prison.
The government of the US president Donald Trump has also deported migrants of various nationalities to other countries in Central America. But El Salvador is the only country where the United States is sending people to be incarcerated there.
Why is Trump deporting migrants to El Salvador?
Trump, a convicted criminal, has claimed that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is invading the United States and invoked the 1798 Foreign Enemies Act, an authority for times of war that allows the president greater flexibility in policies and executive measures to accelerate mass deportations.
He sent dozens of people to El Salvador before a judge banned further deportations under that law. The U.S. government is now asking the Supreme Court to allow it to resume those deportations.
A federal judge on Friday temporarily banned the Trump administration from deporting people to third countries without first allowing them to argue that doing so would put their safety at risk, and ruled that individuals with final deportation orders must have “a meaningful opportunity” to argue that being sent to a country other than their own poses a level of danger considered worthy of protection.
On Sunday, the Trump administration asked the court to reverse its decision and provided guidance that the Department of Homeland Security uses to determine if someone can be removed to a third country.