Amid escalating tensions over deportation policies, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has publicly refused to return a man deported from the U.S. to El Salvador, raising eyebrows among international observers and experts on democratic norms.**
Nayib Bukele's Refusal to Return Deported Man Aligns with Trump Administration's Deportation Strategy**
Nayib Bukele's Refusal to Return Deported Man Aligns with Trump Administration's Deportation Strategy**
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele denies the repatriation of a man deported from Maryland, prompting criticism and raising questions about his alignment with U.S. immigration policies.**
Siding with President Trump during a White House meeting, Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, stated on Monday that he would not consent to the return of a Salvadoran man who had been mistakenly deported from Maryland, a situation sparking a significant legal fight culminating in a Supreme Court ruling. "How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power," Bukele asserted, standing alongside President Trump.
Experts in Latin American affairs have dismissed Bukele's claims about his limitations regarding the repatriation of the migrant, claiming his government's track record of asserting tight control through mass arrests undermines his argument. Ana María Méndez Dardón, Central America director for the Washington Office on Latin America, voiced her astonishment at Bukele’s stance, questioning whether he has any commitment left to democratic principles. "He has an obligation to resolve this case," she insisted.
A federal judge had previously ruled that Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the deportee in question, should return to the United States, a decision that was unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court. By refusing to allow Garcia's return, Bukele has aligned himself with the deportation strategies of the Trump administration, which have characterized deportees to El Salvador as associated with terrorist gangs. The administration claims that once deportees are turned over to sovereign nations, such as El Salvador, they bear no responsibility for their treatment. This situation exemplifies the complexities and challenges in deportation policies as they intersect with international relations and human rights considerations.
