Trump Expels Over 200 Venezuelan Gang Members to El Salvador, Invoking 1798 Wartime Law

Washington, March 16, 2025 – The United States has deported more than 200 alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to El Salvador, where they were immediately incarcerated in a high-security prison. President Donald Trump authorized the expulsion by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a rarely used wartime law, escalating his administration’s crackdown on transnational crime amid legal and diplomatic controversy.

Operation Details and Bukele’s Confirmation

On Sunday, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced the arrival of 238 Tren de Aragua members, stating on X, “Today, a first group of 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua arrived in our country. They were immediately transferred to the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) for a period of one year,” renewable. Videos released by El Salvador’s government show shackled detainees disembarking from planes and boarding buses under military escort at an airport, bound for Cecot—a mega-prison built in 2023 to house up to 40,000 inmates as part of Bukele’s anti-gang campaign.

Trump signed the expulsion order on Friday, though it was publicized Saturday, leveraging the 1798 law that allows the president to detain or deport citizens of an enemy nation during wartime. The administration designated Tren de Aragua a “terrorist organization” in February, alleging it wages “irregular warfare” against the U.S., directly or via Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio added that 23 MS-13 members, including two senior leaders, were also deported to El Salvador for prosecution, writing on X, “We’ve sent back 21 of their most wanted to face justice.”

Legal Pushback and Timing Dispute

The move sparked immediate backlash. The ACLU and Democracy Forward challenged the order, arguing the 1798 law—last invoked during World War II to intern Japanese-Americans—lacks peacetime applicability. On Saturday, D.C. federal judge James Boasberg issued a 14-day suspension of further expulsions to assess its legality, a ruling U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi slammed as endangering “the public and law enforcement.” Posts on X suggest the three planes carrying the 238 gang members may have departed before the judicial order, with Bukele quipping, “Ooopsie… too late,” raising questions about compliance.

Strategic Context and Regional Dynamics

The expulsion follows a February 3 agreement in San Salvador, where Rubio secured Bukele’s offer to house U.S.-deported detainees, including Tren de Aragua and MS-13 members. Unlike Guatemala, Panama, and Costa Rica, which accept expelled migrants, El Salvador uniquely agreed to take hardened criminals. The White House claims Tren de Aragua, born in Venezuela’s Tocorón prison in 2014, has metastasized across the Americas—spanning murders, kidnappings, drug trafficking, and human trafficking—posing a direct threat to U.S. security.

Trump’s order targets Venezuelans over 14 linked to the gang, excluding U.S. citizens or legal residents, with Bondi tasked to enforce it within 60 days. Caracas denounced the move as “infamously and unjustly criminalizing Venezuelan migration,” while the operation dovetails with Trump’s broader agenda—evidenced by Saturday’s Yemen strikes and travel curbs on 43 countries reported Friday.

Implications and Uncertainty

As of 2:37 PM PDT today, the U.S. has not clarified the flights’ timing relative to Boasberg’s ruling, nor confirmed additional deportations. Cecot’s razor-wired cells now hold these 238, with El Salvador billing the U.S. a “very low fee,” per Bukele’s X post. The operation tests Trump’s wartime powers in peacetime, risking legal overturn while showcasing Bukele’s alliance with Washington—a dynamic that could reshape immigration enforcement and U.S.-Latin American relations.