International

Bukele offers his mega-prison in El Salvador for US prisoners, both migrants and Americans

The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, and the Salvadoran President, Nayib Bukele, closed an agreement on Monday to deport to El Salvador undocumented migrants of any nationality who have committed crimes in US territory.

According to the head of US diplomacy, at the meeting they agreed that El Salvador accepts “the deportation of illegal foreigners in the United States who are criminals of any nationality, whether from the M-13 or the Aragua Train, and house them in their prisons.”

But Rubio also surprised by explaining that Bukele even offered to “host in his prisons dangerous American criminals” who are imprisoned in the North American country, both those who have citizenship and those who have legal residence in the United States.

“No country has ever made an offer of friendship like this,” Rubio told the press at the hotel in the Salvadoran capital where he is staying.

Rubio explained that this same Monday he spoke about this matter with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and said that Bukele’s offer is “just a sign of the incredible friend” that he is for the United States.

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Bukele is one of Trump’s closest allies in Latin America and the first president of the region whom the Republican called after his return to the White House.

The Salvadoran president declared to the press that the United States is the “most important partner” of El Salvador and claimed that “being in the box of allies of the United States is better” for the country.

Bukele also highlighted his close harmony with the US president: “We do not hide our sympathy (with Trump),” he said.

The Salvadoran president made these statements with Rubio in a brief greeting to the press from a balcony of his residence overlooking Lake Coatepeque, in the Salvadoran town of El Congo (west).

Then, Bukele and Rubio continued with a private meeting that in a first part accompanied the Salvadoran foreign minister, Alexandra Hill Tinoco.

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The head of US diplomacy, who is on an international tour of Central America, did not make statements.

The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, arrived in El Salvador on Monday to meet with the country’s president, Nayib Bukele, one of the main allies in Latin America of the new Administration of Donald Trump.

The head of US diplomacy landed aboard an Air Force plane at 10:18 local time (16:18 GMT) at El Salvador International Airport, coming from Panama.

El Salvador is the second stop of Rubio’s tour of Central America, focused mainly on containing migration to the United States and counteracting China’s influence in the region.

At the reception to Rubio was his Salvadoran counterpart, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexandra Hill Tinojo, with whom he melted into a hug and chatted briefly in a relaxed way, and then got into a vehicle to leave the airport.

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The Secretary of State will start his agenda with a visit to the Aeroman aircraft maintenance company, then go to the US Embassy in San Salvador and finally meet with President Bukele.

The Salvadoran president was, in fact, the first in Latin America and the second in the world with whom Trump spoke by phone after being invested as president of the United States.

The Trump Administration sees as an example the security strategy of the Bukele government, which has drastically reduced insecurity in the country with a police hard-handed policy criticized by human rights organizations.

After his stay in Panama and El Salvador, Rubio will visit Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

Marco Rubio, son of Cuban immigrants, is the first Hispanic Secretary of State in the history of the United States and speaks fluent Spanish.

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International

Marco Rubio warns Venezuela against military action against Guyana

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela on Thursday that a military attack on Guyana would be “a big mistake” and “a very bad day for them,” expressing his support for Georgetown in its territorial dispute with Caracas.

“It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they attacked Guyana or ExxonMobil. It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, and it would not end well,” Rubio emphasized during a press conference in Georgetown alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.

International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

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“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.