Border Watch: Kilmar Abrego Garcia moved from CECOT; El Salvador offers Venezuela swap
FOX 26's Jonathan Mejia Border Watch with Jonathan Mejia newsletter
Border watchers,
I feel like if a year ago, or even months ago, you asked someone about El Salvador, they probably would not be able to tell you where it is. As of late, El Salvador has been in the headlines. The reason? The country is working with President Donald Trump on his efforts to deport violent criminals and alleged gang members from Venezuela.
In last week’s newsletter, I talked about Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case. ICYMI, he is a Salvadoran man who had been living in the Washington, D.C. area. He was arrested by ICE and sent to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center. But, the Supreme Court ultimately ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return. During a visit to the White House, El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, told reporters he was not going to return Garcia.
So, what’s new?
Garcia has since been moved from CECOT. He was transferred to the administration building at Centro Industrial, where he has his own room with a bed and furniture, rather than a prison cell, according to a court filing from Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, who traveled to El Salvador to meet with Garcia.
Nayib Bukele offers Venezuela an exchange
In a post on X, Bukele told Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela, that they could exchange prisoners. Maduro has accused El Salvador of kidnapping and human trafficking as there are hundreds of Venezuelans detained in CECOT. The men detained there are accused of being gang members of Tren de Aragua (TdA).
Bukele told Maduro that he would release the men to Venezuela if Maduro released the political prisoners he has detained in Venezuela. Bukele offered to release 100% of the Venezuelans in CECOT, which includes 252 men, in exchange for 252 of the thousands detained in that country.
To deport or not to deport?
Currently, there are hundreds of Venezuelan men being detained by the federal government at Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, north of Abilene. The Supreme Court ruled that the men held there cannot be deported to El Salvador’s CECOT before having an opportunity to face an immigration judge in the United States. The court released that decision over the weekend.