El Salvador has agreed to accept deported individuals from the U.S. regardless of nationality and to imprison violent criminals who are U.S. citizens, in what officials are calling a historic immigration agreement between the two nations.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the deal on February 3 after meeting with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele during a visit to Central America aimed at advancing the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.

The agreement has sparked concerns from human rights groups and critics, according to CNN.

"A Special Act of Friendship"

“In an extraordinary gesture of friendship with our country, El Salvador has agreed to the most unique and unprecedented immigration agreement in the world,” Rubio told reporters.

Under the deal, El Salvador will continue to accept Salvadoran nationals deported from the U.S. for entering illegally. However, the agreement also expands beyond that:

🔹 El Salvador will accept deported criminals of any nationality, even if they have no ties to the country.
🔹 This includes gang members from MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, two of the most notorious transnational criminal organizations.
🔹 El Salvador will also detain violent criminals who are U.S. citizens currently incarcerated in the U.S.

“President Bukele has volunteered to imprison dangerous American criminals—including convicted U.S. citizens and legal residents—inside his own jails,” Rubio stated.

Bukele Confirms the Deal

In a post on X, President Bukele confirmed the agreement and revealed that El Salvador would charge the U.S. a fee for detaining these criminals.

"We are willing to accept convicted criminals (including U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee," Bukele wrote.

“This fee will be relatively small for the U.S. but significant for us, allowing our entire prison system to remain financially sustainable,” he added.

Human Rights Concerns

One of the most controversial aspects of the deal is El Salvador’s strict approach to incarceration.

🚨 Under the country’s state of emergency—declared in 2022—authorities can arrest anyone suspected of gang affiliation, without trial or due process.
🚨 There is no legal distinction between alleged gang members and convicted criminals.
🚨 El Salvador has the world’s highest incarceration rate, with more than 80,000 detainees under Bukele’s security crackdown.

While Bukele claims this strategy has made the country safer, human rights groups argue that many detainees are innocent and were arrested arbitrarily.

The agreement marks a major shift in U.S. immigration policy and could have far-reaching legal and humanitarian implications in the coming months.