US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Monday in a high-profile discussion aimed at addressing illegal migration, transnational crime, and regional security. The talks also covered strategies to counter growing Chinese influence in Central America.
In a statement released by the US Department of State, officials described the meeting as “tremendously successful,” emphasizing its impact on making both nations “stronger, safer, and more prosperous.”
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 3, 2025
A key outcome of the discussions was an agreement on migration and crime control. President Bukele pledged to repatriate all Salvadoran MS-13 gang members unlawfully present in the United States. He also committed to accepting and incarcerating violent criminals from any country, including members of Venezuela’s notorious Tren de Aragua gang.
Bukele also offered to imprison foreign criminals—including US citizens and legal residents—in El Salvador’s high-security jails. This marks the first time a foreign nation has voluntarily taken responsibility for housing violent criminals from another country, signaling an extraordinary shift in international crime-fighting cooperation.
Additionally, El Salvador agreed to accept and detain members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, as well as other violent criminals apprehended in the US, regardless of their nationality.
Beyond migration, the US has committed to unfreezing critical security aid to El Salvador, restoring funding that had been halted due to previous political tensions. The financial support will be directed toward strengthening border security, resuming intelligence-sharing programs, and enhancing crime detection efforts.
As part of this initiative, funding will be restored to El Salvador’s National Passenger Analysis Center (CNAP), allowing authorities to better track suspicious individuals entering and exiting the country. Support will also be reinstated for El Salvador’s Border Security Information Group (CGIF), as well as special Salvadoran task forces that collaborate with US law enforcement agencies.
Rubio’s visit to El Salvador comes as part of his first international tour as Secretary of State, with scheduled stops in Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic. His decision to prioritize Latin America underscores a broader shift in US foreign policy, emphasizing stronger engagement with regional allies to counter Chinese influence and address migration challenges at their roots.
