SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned late Monday that El Salvador’s president has supplied to simply accept deportees from the U.S. of any nationality, together with violent American criminals now imprisoned in america.

President Nayib Bukele “has agreed to essentially the most unprecedented, extraordinary, extraordinary migratory settlement wherever on this planet,” Rubio mentioned after assembly with Bukele at his lakeside nation home outdoors San Salvador for a number of hours.

“We will ship them and he’ll put them in his jails,” Rubio mentioned of migrants of all nationalities detained in america. “And, he’s additionally supplied to do the identical for harmful criminals at the moment in custody and serving their sentences in america although they’re U.S. residents or authorized residents.”

Rubio was visiting El Salvador to press a pleasant authorities to do extra to satisfy President Donald Trump’s calls for for a serious crackdown on immigration.

Bukele confirmed the supply in a put up on X, saying El Salvador has “supplied america of America the chance to outsource a part of its jail system.” He mentioned his nation would settle for solely “convicted criminals” and would cost a payment that “could be comparatively low for the U.S. however important for us, making our total jail system sustainable.”

Elon Musk, the billionaire working with Trump to remake the federal authorities, responded on his X platform, “Nice thought!!”

After Rubio spoke, a U.S. official mentioned the Trump administration had no present plans to attempt to deport Americans, however mentioned Bukele’s supply was important. The U.S. authorities can not deport Americans and such a transfer could be met with important authorized challenges.

The State Division describes El Salvador’s overcrowded prisons as “harsh and harmful.” On its present nation info webpage it says, “In lots of services, provisions for sanitation, potable water, air flow, temperature management, and lighting are insufficient or nonexistent.”

Rubio arrived in San Salvador shortly after watching a U.S.-funded deportation flight with 43 migrants depart from Panama for Colombia. That got here a day after Rubio delivered a warning to Panama that except the federal government moved instantly to get rid of China’s presence on the Panama Canal, the U.S. would act to take action.

Migration, although, was the principle subject of the day, as will probably be for the subsequent stops on Rubio’s five-nation Central American tour of Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic after Panama and El Salvador. His tour is going down at a time of turmoil in Washington over the standing of the federal government’s important overseas growth company.

Trump’s administration prioritizes stopping folks from making the journey to america and has labored with regional international locations to spice up immigration enforcement on their borders in addition to to simply accept deportees from america.

The settlement Rubio described for El Salvador to simply accept overseas nationals arrested in america for violating U.S. immigration legal guidelines is called a “secure third nation” settlement. Officers have prompt this could be an choice for Venezuelan gang members convicted of crimes in america ought to Venezuela refuse to simply accept them, however Rubio mentioned Bukele’s supply was for detainees of any nationality.

Rubio mentioned Bukele then went additional and mentioned his nation was prepared to simply accept and to jail U.S. residents or authorized residents convicted of and imprisoned for violent crimes.

Human rights activists have warned that El Salvador lacks a constant coverage for the remedy of asylum seekers and refugees and that such an settlement may not be restricted to violent criminals.

Manuel Flores, the secretary basic of the leftist opposition occasion Farabundo Martí Nationwide Liberation Entrance, criticized the “secure third nation” plan, saying it will sign that the area is Washington’s “yard to dump the rubbish.”

After assembly with Bukele, Rubio signed a memorandum of understanding together with his Salvadoran counterpart to advance U.S.-El Salvador civil nuclear cooperation. The doc might result in a extra formal deal on cooperation in nuclear energy and medication that the U.S. has with quite a few international locations.

The deportation flight Rubio watched being loaded in Panama Metropolis was carrying migrants detained by Panamanian authorities after illegally crossing the Darien Hole from Colombia. The State Division says such deportations ship a message of deterrence. The U.S. has offered Panama with monetary help to the tune of just about $2.7 million in flights and tickets since an settlement was signed to fund them.

Rubio was on the tarmac for the departure of the flight, which was taking 32 males and 11 girls again to Colombia. It’s uncommon for a secretary of state to personally witness such a regulation enforcement operation, particularly in entrance of cameras.

“Mass migration is likely one of the nice tragedies within the fashionable period,” Rubio mentioned, talking afterward in a close-by constructing. “It impacts international locations all through the world. We acknowledge that most of the individuals who search mass migration are sometimes victims and victimized alongside the way in which, and it’s not good for anybody.”

Monday’s deportation flight got here as Trump has been threatening motion in opposition to nations that won’t settle for flights of their nationals from america, and he briefly hit Colombia with penalties final week for initially refusing to simply accept two flights. Panama has been extra cooperative and has allowed flights of third-country deportees to land and despatched migrants again earlier than they attain america.

His journey comes amid a sweeping freeze in U.S. overseas help and stop-work orders which have shut down U.S.-funded applications concentrating on unlawful migration and crime in Central American international locations. The State Division mentioned Sunday that Rubio had accredited waivers for sure vital applications in international locations he’s visiting, however particulars of these weren’t instantly accessible.

Whereas Rubio was in another country, staffers of the U.S. Company for Worldwide Growth had been instructed Monday to remain out of the company’s Washington headquarters after Musk introduced Trump had agreed with him to close the company.

Hundreds of USAID workers already had been laid off and applications shut down. Rubio advised reporters in San Salvador that he was now the appearing administrator of USAID however had delegated that authority so he wouldn’t be working its day-to-day operations.

The change signifies that USAID is now not an unbiased authorities company because it had been for many years — though its new standing will seemingly be challenged in court docket — and will likely be run out of the State Division by division officers.

In his remarks, Rubio pressured that some and maybe many USAID applications would proceed within the new configuration however that the swap was essential as a result of the company had grow to be unaccountable to the manager department and Congress.

On his weekend dialogue with Panama’s president on the Panama Canal, Rubio mentioned he was hopeful that the Panamanians would heed his and Trump’s warnings on China. Panamanians have bristled at Trump’s insistence on retaking management of the American-built canal, which the U.S. turned over in 1999, though they’ve agreed to drag out of a Chinese language infrastructure and growth initiative.

“I perceive that it’s a fragile subject in Panama,” Rubio advised reporters in San Salvador. “We don’t wish to have a hostile and destructive relationship with Panama,” he mentioned. “I don’t consider we do. And we had a frank and respectful dialog, and I hope it’ll yield fruits and end result within the days to return.”

However again in Washington, Trump was much less diplomatic, saying: “China’s concerned with the Panama Canal. They received’t be for lengthy and that’s the way in which it needs to be.”

“We both need it again, or we’re going to get one thing very robust, or we’re going to take it again,” Trump advised reporters on the White Home. “And China will likely be handled.”

—Zamorano reported from Panama Metropolis.