Trump Administration working to forge 'safe third country' agreement with key Central American nation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are reportedly discussing an Asylum Agreement with the government of El Salvador led by President Nayib Bukele. The proposed agreement would allow U.S. authorities to deport illegal immigrants to El Salvador as a "safe third country," according to sources near the deliberations per CBS.

According to CBS News, the Trump Administration would apply the “Safe Third Country” designation to the Central American nation, reviving an agreement Trump first established during his first term and was terminated under President Joe Biden.

Once re-finalized, the plan would allow the Trump Administration to bypass potentially recalcitrant governments in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua which share land and maritime borders with El Salvador to return deported illegal immigrants to their home countries.

Even more distant South American nations like Venezuela that limit or wholly reject deportations could be sidestepped by the Bukele administration acting on behalf of the U.S. This would be particularly valuable as the violent Venezuelan street gang Tren-de-Aragua are considered high-priority deportation targets by the Department of Homeland Security, with Trump directing the DOJ to begin the process of declaring the gang a terrorist organization shortly after his inauguration.
 
President Bukele, 43, was described by TIME Magazine as “arguably the most popular head of state in the world,” and made a name for himself internationally through “an aggressive crackdown on vicious gangs that has jailed 81,000 people and led to a precipitous drop in homicides.” According to former Congressman Matt Gaetz who visited last year with Tucker Carlson, Bukele is a “kindred spirit.”

“He sees himself as a liberator, not an authoritarian,” Gaetz told TIME. “Sometimes, to solve third-world problems, you need some third-world solutions.”

According to a White House readout, President Trump called President Bukele on Thursday. “The two leaders discussed working together to stop illegal immigration and crack down on transnational gangs like Tren de Aragua. President Trump also praised President Bukele’s leadership in the region and the example he sets for other nations in the Western Hemisphere.”

Newly minted Secretary of State Rubio is scheduled to visit San Salvador in early February according to CBS as part of a round of trips to Central and South America set to begin this week.

As noted by the outlet, the Trump administration forged agreements with Guatemala and Honduras during the President’s first term, only to see them summarily suspended by former President Joe Biden leaving only Canada as a ‘safe third country.’  Rubio’s upcoming trip could pave the road for resumed multi-lateral diplomacy in Central America to address illegal immigration.
 
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