In brief
President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has aligned himself with President Trump's deportation agenda by refusing to return a Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, despite a federal judge's order. Legal experts criticize Bukele's lack of commitment to democratic norms, as the Trump administration uses this case to underscore its deportation strategies.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele is standing with the Trump administration regarding its controversial deportation policies by refusing to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man mistakenly deported from Maryland last month. This decision has ignited a legal battle all the way to the Supreme Court, which unanimously backed a federal judge's order to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to the United States.During a recent meeting with President Trump at the White House, Bukele remarked, "How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power,” feeding into skepticism from Latin America experts. Ana María Méndez Dardón, a director at the Washington Office for Latin America, expressed her disbelief, stating, “If he has any remaining commitment to democratic norms, he has an obligation to resolve this case."In his refusal to return Mr. Abrego Garcia, Bukele is reinforcing the Trump administration’s narrative that deportees to El Salvador can be associated with terrorist activities. The administration asserts it holds no responsibility once individuals are handed over to a sovereign nation, thereby circumventing legal challenges and maintaining its hardline stance on immigration enforcement.
