El Salvador Refuses to Return Wrongly Deported Man as Bukele Doubles Down on Alliance with Trump Deportation Agenda

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has refused to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident wrongly deported by the Trump administration, despite court orders and mounting international criticism. Bukele defended the decision, asserting that the U.S. has no jurisdiction over the matter and calling the idea of returning Abrego “preposterous.”
Abrego Garcia, mistakenly deported to El Salvador last month, was placed directly into one of the country’s infamous maximum-security prisons, typically reserved for violent gang members. Though an immigration court had barred his deportation due to credible fears of gang persecution, the Trump administration proceeded, claiming Abrego was Salvadoran and therefore not their responsibility.
“If El Salvador wants to return him, we’ll provide a plane,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi, adding, “But he was illegally in our country.” President Bukele, however, stood firm: “I don’t have the power to return him. That’s not how sovereignty works.”
El Salvador has become a cornerstone of the Trump administration’s controversial deportation campaign, which has included sending more than 200 Venezuelan migrants—accused without concrete evidence of gang ties—to a prison outside San Salvador. The U.S. is funding the effort with a $6 million agreement to support incarceration costs.
President Trump praised Bukele for being “amazing” and “solving problems we couldn’t afford to fix,” stating that some of the deported individuals “should have never been allowed into our country.”
But Bukele’s actions have drawn ire, especially following remarks dismissing a federal court ruling to halt a deportation flight. When the court order was issued, Bukele mockingly posted on social media: “Oopsie… too late.”
One of the most troubling aspects of the situation remains the detention of Abrego Garcia. Though the Supreme Court has ordered the U.S. to facilitate his return, government lawyers admitted over the weekend that he remains in El Salvador, offering no details on any concrete efforts to bring him back.
Further complicating matters, Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently confirmed the arrival of 10 additional alleged gang members in El Salvador and thanked Bukele for his cooperation. Trump added he would even consider deporting U.S. citizens convicted of violent crimes to El Salvador, though the legality of such action is highly questionable.
El Salvador remains under a three-year-long state of emergency, which has suspended certain civil liberties. Bukele has used the period to arrest over 84,000 suspected gang members and build one of the largest prisons in Latin America. Despite international human rights concerns, his anti-gang crackdown remains overwhelmingly popular at home.
Bukele’s alliance with Trump has served both leaders’ populist narratives. While Trump touts mass deportations, Bukele frames the incarceration of foreign nationals as part of a national honor to rid El Salvador of criminal elements. However, critics argue this cooperation has turned El Salvador into a holding ground for people without due process.
César Ríos, director of the El Salvador Immigrant Agenda Association, called for diplomatic posturing to be replaced by tangible actions. “This isn’t just about appearances. Real people are suffering, and real policies are needed.”
Despite past tensions, Bukele and Trump continue to align on immigration enforcement. As Bukele arrives in Washington amid these controversies, the State Department has updated El Salvador’s travel advisory to Level 1, signaling low risk for U.S. travelers—a sharp contrast to the realities faced by deportees held behind the country’s barbed-wire fences.