The first plane touched down in El Salvador on Sunday night (March 16) carrying suspected members of a Venezuelan gang after Donald Trump‘s administration passed an order to send criminals to the country.
The order was passed by Trump’s administration to send 238 supposed criminals to a mega-prison in El Salvador, despite a federal judge ruling against the order.
However, the decision was made after the plane was already in international airspace, with the administration denying it had disobeyed anyone.
Trump was able to deport the alleged members of Tren de Aragua due to an 18th century law which was intended for wartime.
The US government claimed the country was facing an ‘invasion’ from a criminal organisation that had ties to kidnapping, contract killings and other organised crime.
El Salavador’s prisons are known for being ‘hell on Earth’ and the maximum security Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) where these suspected gang members were taken is one of the largest prisons in the world.
A deal was struck between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Salvadoran President, Nayib Bukele to house these prisoners.
Bukele took to social media to share pictures and videos of the inmates as they were handcuffed and herded off the plane to a highly-guarded convoy.
He wrote that the ‘first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organisation’ had landed and that ‘the United States will pay a very low fee for them, but a high one for us.’
Bukele added on Twitter: “As always, we continue advancing in the fight against organized crime. But this time, we are also helping our allies, making our prison system self-sustainable, and obtaining vital intelligence to make our country an even safer place. All in a single action.
“May God bless El Salvador, and may God bless the United States.”
Upon arrival, the inmates heads were shaved by guards.
Trump blamed Joe Biden and the Democrats for the presence of the criminals in the country and took to his Truth social media network to confirm the move.
He said: “These are monsters sent into our Country by Crooked Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats. How dare they!
“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.”
The Trump administration denied that it violated a court order by deporting the Venezuelan immigrants, as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt released a statement.
She claimed that federal courts ‘have no jurisdiction’ over the president’s foreign affairs.
The statement added: “A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from US soil.”
Trump went on to claim that the Tren de Aragua gang has ties to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The president’s order means that any Venezuelan citizen that’s 14 or older within the US that’s determined to be a member of the gang can be ‘apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies.’
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In defence of his order, the president stated: “Over the years, Venezuelan national and local authorities have ceded ever-greater control over their territories to transnational criminal organizations, including TdA.
“The result is a hybrid criminal state that is perpetrating an invasion of and predatory incursion into the United States, and which poses a substantial danger to the United States.”
CECOT is known for its inhumane conditions. Violence is ever-present in the overcrowded facility and inmates face harsh treatment, crammed in their cells.
The food on offer is minimal, with items like beans and pasta available, while inmates are often made to fight over food and water.