"Awesome" "Looks like a teenager"... Why Trump Kept Praising Bukele

El Salvador's Bukele Visits the White House
Trump: "You Want to Stop Crime, So Do We"
Supreme Court Orders Repatriation, Labeled as "Terrorist"

On the 14th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump met with Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, creating a warm atmosphere for the first time in a while. Yonhap News reported that "President Trump praised President Bukele for 'doing a fantastic job' in accepting illegal immigrants deported from the United States." The illegal immigrants deported by the Trump administration are being held in El Salvador's Terrorist Detention Center (CECOT, Sekot), the largest detention facility in Central and South America, and this was an expression of gratitude for that.

On the 14th (local time), Donald Trump, President of the United States, met with Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington DC. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

At the White House office that day, President Trump said to President Bukele, "I appreciate working with you. You want to stop crime, and so do we," adding, "The people of El Salvador have a great president. I have known you since you were very young, and you still look like a teenager," praising him.

However, there are also criticisms that some immigrants deported by the Trump administration, who are not affiliated with gangs, have been unjustly detained at Sekot. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 10th (local time), the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to attempt to bring back Kilmar Abrego Garcia (29), an immigrant deported to an El Salvador prison. The Supreme Court stated in its ruling, "The government dismissed this as a simple administrative error instead of rushing to correct a serious mistake," and pointed out, "According to the government's logic, if the court does not intervene, it could imprison or deport anyone, including U.S. citizens."

When asked at the meeting whether he would request President Bukele's help to bring back the immigrant detained in the El Salvador prison as per the Supreme Court ruling, President Trump did not answer directly and deferred the response to Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was present. Bondi said, "In 2019, two courts ruled that the immigrant was a gang member and was illegally residing," adding, "The Supreme Court ruling means that if El Salvador wants to repatriate him, the U.S. should assist, which in this case means providing a plane." She further stated, "Whether to send him back is up to El Salvador." After Bondi finished her response, President Trump said, "You are doing a great job."

President Bukele responded to the question of whether he would send the immigrant to the U.S. by saying, "The question doesn't make sense," and added, "How could I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I would never do that."

A citizen is protesting outside the Embassy of El Salvador in Washington DC, USA, against President Trump's policy of detaining people deported from the United States for illegal entry in the El Salvador Terrorist Detention Center (CECOT). Photo by AP Yonhap News

President Trump also asked, "You said you deport criminals to El Salvador, but does this include U.S. citizens or those fully naturalized in the U.S.?" He then posed a hypothetical, "If they hit someone’s head with a baseball bat, if they raped an 87-year-old in Brooklyn," and answered, "Yes."

Previously, the Trump administration deported over 200 Venezuelan nationals under the pretext of cracking down on the international drug trafficking and violent gang 'Tren de Aragua,' most of whom are detained at Sekot in El Salvador due to so-called 'prison outsourcing.'

President Bukele, who was re-elected last year, introduces himself as "the coolest dictator in the world." He has waged a war on crime with a 'zero tolerance' policy, incarcerating many at Sekot, but there are claims that innocent people are also included.