Trump’s gang crackdown: Tren de Aragua sent to El Salvador

India Today

The US deports suspected Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador’s mega-prison. Bukele calls it a win. Trump defies a court order. But is this the right move?

Transcript

00:00These are suspected gang members of a Venezuelan gang called Tren de Aragua

00:14deported from the US to El Salvador. The footage was shared by El Salvador

00:19President Nayib Bukele on X. Bukele is happy.

00:23The Trump administration is said to be paying about $6 million to El Salvador for hosting

00:32the Tren de Aragua members for a year. Bukele calls it a very low fee for the US

00:37but a high one for us. El Salvador, once one of the most dangerous

00:41places on earth where gangs rule the streets. In came President Nayib Bukele in 2019.

00:47His war on gangs turned the country into a maximum security state.

00:50El Salvador was turned from the most dangerous place in the world to the safest in the western

00:55hemisphere. At the heart of this claim by President Bukele,

00:59Secord, Terrorism Confinement Center, a mega prison built to hold the worst of the worst.

01:04No escape, no mercy, no rights, inmates are shaved bald, denied visitors, phone calls

01:10or personal items. Secord's latest guests from the US were

01:13tortured as well. Meanwhile for Trump, this is more than an

01:16immigration crackdown. He is targeting Tren de Aragua using the

01:19Alien Enemies Act to deport them without trial. A US judge halted these deportations

01:24but they continued anyway. The message is clear, the US does not want

01:28them and in El Salvador, there's only one place for them, Secord.

01:32But why El Salvador and not Venezuela itself? Because Bukele and Venezuelan President Nicolas

01:36Maduro are bitter rivals. In 2019, Bukele cut ties with Venezuela calling

01:41Maduro's government illegitimate. Maduro's relations with Washington are not

01:45great either. So for now, Bukele gets what he wants, a

01:48tougher stance on gangs and a closer alliance with Trump.

01:51Trump gets a political win as well, showing his base that he's cracking down on criminal

01:55migrants. Do you think Trump did the right thing by

01:57deporting these gangsters out of the US? Let us know in the comments.

02:00I'm Manish Adhikari, thank you for watching. First things first.

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