The Trump administration deported more alleged Venezuelan members of the MS-13 gang to El Salvador over the weekend. The US State Department said on Monday that 17 alleged foreign criminals were sent.
The group of alleged violent criminals linked to Aragua’s Tren and MS-13 was transported by the US Army on Sunday night, said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement, adding that the deports included killers and rapists.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said in an X post that all deported were “confirmed killers and high profile criminals, including six children’s rapists.”
US authorities have not provided names of individuals or details about alleged convictions. The State Department and the US internal security department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump, a republican, took office in January promising to deport millions of immigrants in the US illegally as part of a wide repression of immigration. Earlier this month, Trump invoked a 18th century law that has historically been used only in times of war, to reach alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The American Civil Liberties Union has contested the use of the law by Trump, saying that it denies migrants the due process promised by the US constitution to contest the base for its removal. Family members of some of the deported denied that they have ties with gangs.
A Federal Court of US Appeals confirmed last week the blockade of a court less than Trump’s use of law to quickly deport alleged gang members. Rubio did not say which authorities were used for Sunday deportations.
The Trump government asked the US Supreme Court to suspend the suspension of the use of the law by Trump.
