FIRST IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICA SENT TO WORST PRISON AFTER TRUMP DEFIES JUDGE RULING
On Sunday, March 16, Donald Trump was in a good mood following the landing of a plane carrying suspected members of a Venezuelan gang in El Salvador. A federal judge ruled against the Trump administration's decision to transfer 238 alleged offenders to a mega-prison in El Salvador. This decision was made after the plane had entered international airspace, though, and the administration denied that it had defied anyone. Due to 18th-century legislation designed for times of war, Trump was able to deport the accused members of Tren de Aragua. The US government claimed that the country was being invaded by a criminal organisation with links to kidnapping, contract killings, and other organised crimes.
Following an agreement between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, the immigrants were quickly transferred to El Salvador's Maximum Security Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT). The facility, which was opened in 2023, is one of the largest prisons in the world which currently houses tens of thousands of people accused of having gang affiliations. Bukele posted images and videos of the prisoners being handcuffed and being led off the aircraft to a heavily guarded vehicle on social media. "The United States will pay a very modest charge for them, but a large one for us," he said, referring to the arrival of the "first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organisation."
Bukele commented on Twitter: "We are making progress against organised crime as usual. This time, however, we are making our jail system self-sufficient, assisting our allies, and gaining critical knowledge to keep our nation even safer. One motion, all at once. May God bless the United States, and may God bless El Salvador."
Trump came to Truth Social to confirm the move, accusing Joe Biden and the Democrats of being responsible for the accused criminals' presence in the United States, as officers shaved the heads of the convicts. He wrote: "Crooked Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats have sent these beasts into our country." "How dare they!"
Trump went on: "Thank you to El Salvador, and in particular President Bukele, for your understanding of this horrible situation, which was allowed to happen to the United States because of Democrat leadership. We will not forget."
Trump denies any wrongdoing amid judge's ruling
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement in which the Trump administration denied that the deportation of the Venezuelan immigrants was a violation of a court order. She asserted that the president's foreign affairs are outside the "jurisdiction" of federal courts. "One judge in one city cannot control the movements of an aircraft carrier carrying foreign terrorists who were physically ejected from US land," the statement continued. "I want to express my profound gratitude to President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador for playing a major role in this transfer," Rubio said in a subsequent statement, claiming that "hundreds of violent criminals were sent out of our nation."Meanwhile, Trump has gone as far as claiming that the Tren de Aragua gang has ties to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
According to the president's order, any Venezuelan national in the United States who is 14 years of age or older and is found to be a member of the gang may be "apprehended, confined, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies." He asserts that in an effort to hurt residents, the gang has participated in "huge illegal migration" to the country. The president defended his directive by saying: "Transnational criminal groups, such as TdA, have gained increasing authority over Venezuelan national and municipal authorities' areas over the years. "The outcome is a hybrid criminal state that is posing a serious threat to the United States and is committing an invasion and predatory incursion into the country."
'A concrete and steel pit'
Regarding the prison, CECOT is notorious for its cruel conditions, being a packed establishment where there is constant fighting and detainees are subjected to cruel treatment while forced into their cells. Inmates are forced to struggle over food and water, and there is very little food available—only pasta and beans. An ex-member of the UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture, Miguel Sarre, has called the facility a "concrete and steel abyss."
