Last Wednesday, March 26, the US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, traveled to El Salvador to visit the mega-prison called Confinement Center for Terrorism (CECOT), where the Salvadoran government has detained hundreds of Venezuelan migrants deported by the United States.
On X, the US Embassy in El Salvador explained that during her visit, “Secretary Noem will address cooperation between the two countries in the fight against illegal migration, reinforcing joint efforts to strengthen border security and ensure a safer region.”
Noem strengthens US-El Salvador alliance on mass deportations
In a clear gesture of support for the Bukele administration, Noem met with the Salvadoran President to strengthen the crackdown on immigration that the Trump administration has initiated since he took office on January 20, 2025. According to the US Embassy in El Salvador, the meeting formalized “bilateral cooperation on security and migration. During the meeting, Secretary Noem thanked the President for El Salvador’s commitment to the fight against illegal migration.”
For his part, El Salvador’s Secretary of Security, Gustavo Villatoro explained that during Noem’s visit, “We toured CECOT, the largest maximum-security prison in the Americas. In addition, we signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to update the Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) between our countries. With this agreement, we will have a more streamlined exchange of information and criminal records on fugitives, so that these criminals are not inadvertently released or remain unnoticed in the communities. This will undoubtedly be an enriching experience to share our security achievements and strengthen our strategies to combat transnational organized crime and terrorism.”
Noem’s prison video sparks controversy over US policy and human rights
One of the most controversial moments of the visit was disseminated by Secretary Noem herself, who recorded a video inside the CECOT mega-prison, in front of a cell holding dozens of shirtless inmates posing in silence.
“I want to thank El Salvador and their President for the partnership with the US to bring the terrorists here, and to incarcerate them and to have consequences for the violence they have perpetuated in our communities.” But most seriously, she warned in a threatening tone, that if anyone dared to enter the United States illegally, “this is one of the consequences you can face… [CECOT] is one of the facilities that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people”.
Despite Noem repeating that the detained men are “terrorists” and “criminals”, none of the 238 migrants who were irregularly deported from the US to El Salvador were granted a trial – a constitutional right – meaning they have not been proven guilty of anything. In fact, family members of many of those deported have shared that their relatives’ only crime was being a poor migrant with tattoos.
Read more: Venezuelan families demand justice for their relatives deported to El Salvador
The agreement to receive deported migrants and lock them up was signed between the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, and the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
According to official information leaked by AP, El Salvador will receive around USD 20,000 per year for each person the US government sends to the Central American country.
Venezuela continues to demand the immediate and safe return of its citizens from El Salvador, and has received several deportation flights this past week.
Trump doubles down on deportations and detainment
For now, Trump shows no signs of abandoning his immigration policy, including the deportation of migrants to El Salvador. Despite the objections of several human rights organizations and the Venezuelan government, Trump has ordered a blackout on information regarding deportation operations to the Central American country. Everything related to the flights of Venezuelans to El Salvador has been declared a “State Secret” by the US president.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Venezuelan families, along with the Maduro government, continue to demand the release and repatriation of their compatriots to Venezuela.
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