El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele on Tuesday offered to jail American criminals as part of a plan for the United States to outsource part of its prison system. US secretary of state Marco Rubio welcomed the offer, calling it an unprecedented gesture of friendship.
There is no recent example of a democratic country sending its own citizens to foreign prisons. Any such move would likely face legal challenges in US courts.
Speaking to reporters in San Salvador, Rubio said, “He has offered to house in his jails dangerous American criminals in custody in our country, including those with US citizenship and legal residency.”
He added, “No country’s ever made an offer of friendship such as this. We are profoundly grateful. I spoke to President Trump about this earlier today.”
Jail without borders
Bukele later confirmed the offer on social media, saying that El Salvador would charge a fee for the service.
“We have offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system,” Bukele wrote on X. “The fee would be relatively low for the US but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable.”
Focus on gangs and migrants
Rubio said Bukele’s offer also included accepting Salvadoran citizens and nationals from other countries. He suggested that the plan could focus on jailing gang members from groups like MS-13 in El Salvador and Tren de Aragua from Venezuela.
“Any unlawful immigrant and illegal immigrant in the United States who is a dangerous criminal — MS-13, Tren de Aragua, whatever it may be — he has offered his jails,” Rubio said.
Since returning to the White House last month, President Donald Trump has prioritized deporting millions of people living in the US without legal status. He has also taken steps to limit birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed by the US Constitution.
Trump has proposed detaining 30,000 migrants at the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Previous Democratic administrations had aimed to close the prison there.
The administration is particularly focused on deporting Venezuelans. Since taking office, Trump has ended a program that protected around 600,000 Venezuelans from deportation. The program was originally introduced by former President Joe Biden, citing the crisis in Venezuela under President Nicolás Maduro.
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