Skip to content

El Salvador's President Offers To 'Outsource' Part of U.S. Prison System

In a three-hour meeting yesterday with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele offered what Rubio called “the most extraordinary and unprecedented migratory agreement anywhere in the world.” Bukele agreed to “accept for deportation any illegal alien in the United States who is a criminal, or any nationality—be they MS-13 or (the Venezuelan) Tren de Aragua—and house them in his jails,” ABC News reported him saying. Although Rubio explained that Bukele’s offer also included “U.S. citizens and legal residents,” anonymous U.S. officials immediately responded that the U.S. has no plans to deport U.S. citizens, which is prohibited by law and would risk significant legal challenges if pursued.

Associated Press today quoted Rubio admitting, “[T]here are obvious legalities involved. We have a Constitution, but it’s a very generous offer. Obviously, the administration will have to make a decision.” Rubio had reported the details of the plan to President Donald Trump, prior to making a public announcement. Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), hailed Bukele’s offer as a “great idea.”

In a posting to his X account yesterday, Bukele reported “[W]e have offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system. We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee. The fee would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable.” The amount of the fee was not disclosed.

Bukele reported that deportees from the U.S. would be housed at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), the maximum security prison complex that reportedly now holds 20,000 prisoners from the deadly MS-13 and Barrio 18 gangs, but has a capacity to hold 40,000—the largest in Ibero-America.