Rubio Says El Salvador Agrees to House Criminal Deportees of Any Nationality From US in Its Jails

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) meets with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele at his residence at Lake Coatepeque in El Congo municipality, El Salvador, on Feb. 3, 2025. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has agreed to house in its jails deported criminal illegal immigrants from the United States of any nationality.

Bukele “has agreed to the most unprecedented, extraordinary, extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world,” Rubio said at a signing ceremony for an unrelated civil nuclear agreement with El Salvador’s foreign minister.

“He’s also offered to do the same for dangerous criminals currently in custody and serving their sentence in the United States even though they’re U.S. citizens or legal residents,” Rubio said.

Rubio made the comments following a Monday meeting with Bukele in San Salvador, which the State Department has described as being “tremendously successful” for both sides.

As part of that, the two struck agreements to tackle illegal mass migration, according to a State Department readout.

“Multiple agreements were struck to fight the waves of illegal mass migration currently destabilizing the entire region,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

Rubio told reporters that Bukele has offered to house in his jails U.S. citizens currently serving prison sentences for criminal offenses, though he did not specify which offenses would lead to the transfer.

The State Department said that Bukele also agreed to accept “criminal illegal migrants” currently imprisoned in the United States, including members of Latin American gangs such as El Salvador’s MS-13 and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang.

Bukele confirmed the offer in a post on X, saying El Salvador has “offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system.” He said his country would accept only “convicted criminals” and would charge a fee that “would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable.”

Talks between Rubio and Bukele also covered other issues, including China’s sway in the region.

“Secretary Rubio also raised strategies to counter the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the hemisphere to safeguard the sovereignty and interests of both nations and the region,” Bruce said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.