Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly agreed to drop protections for confidential informants to finalise a deal with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, allowing the US to detain Venezuelan deportees in the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). The arrangement was made days before Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to expedite deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members.
According to The Washington Post, during a March 13 phone call, Bukele agreed to the deal on condition that the US send him MS-13 gang members who were actually informants protected by the Department of Justice. Instead of rejecting the demand, Rubio agreed to speak with Attorney General Pam Bondi about abandoning those protections.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott defended the administration's actions, stating: 'The Trump Administration's results speak for themselves. Hardened gang members are back in Venezuela. American hostages are home. MS-13 gang members are being prosecuted in the US and El Salvador. And Americans are safer as a result of these incredible efforts.'
However, government officials later admitted that many of the deported men had no criminal records and were legally in the US with pending asylum claims. A federal judge had ordered the administration to halt the flights, but the administration resisted, sparking a legal battle.
Former FBI agent Daniel Brunner expressed frustration, saying: 'It would be very disheartening if I worked my butt off for a year to collect that evidence … just for the Department of Justice or the State Department to turn around and say, OK we're going to drop all charges.'
Approximately 250 Venezuelan men were flown from immigration detention centres to CECOT, where they were shackled, had their heads shaved, and were held for over five months without contact with families or lawyers. The deal ultimately led to a prisoner exchange and the release of 250 Venezuelans back to their home country this summer.
