U.s. Deportations To El Salvador Double As Bukele Aligns Himself With Trump Agenda

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — The number of group deported to El Salvador from nan U.S. astir doubled successful nan first months of 2026, according to charismatic figures, coming arsenic Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has positioned himself arsenic an state consenting to thief nan Trump management accelerate deportations, a cardinal priority.

The U.S. deported 5,033 Salvadorans backmost to their state successful nan first 3 months of 2026 compared pinch 2,547 deportees successful nan aforesaid play successful 2025, according to El Salvador migration authority figures obtained by The Associated Press connected Tuesday.

That marks astir a 98% summation astatine nan aforesaid clip that nan Trump management has boosted deportation flights crossed nan world. Globally, deportation flights from nan U.S. jumped astir 61% betwixt 2024 and 2025, according to information compiled by nan Asociación Agenda Migrante El Salvador, aliases AAMES, and different organizations.

The U.S. has stopped regularly releasing deportation data, truthful experts alternatively are relying connected different accusation from countries for illustration El Salvador, deportation flights and different numbers.

The crisp summation successful deportations “confirms a existent hardening of nan U.S. migration strategy toward nan region,” said César Ríos of AAMES.

The jump comes arsenic Bukele, a tough-on-crime politician, has sought to align himself pinch President Trump, and nan U.S. authorities has lined up friends crossed Latin America to thief him transportation retired his agenda. While Mexico and different Central American nations person softly accepted deportees from 3rd countries, Bukele has boldly embraced Trump’s efforts successful Latin America.

In March 2025, Bukele astir notably accepted 238 Venezuelan deportees accused of being members of nan Venezuelan pack Tren de Aragua and locked them up successful a mega-prison built for accused pack members successful Bukele’s ongoing violative connected El Salvador’s gangs. The incident fueled wide accusations of quality authorities abuses.

The geopolitical firestorm came aft Trump’s authorities struck a woody pinch Bukele to judge what they described arsenic transportation and imprisonment of overseas criminals to El Salvador. Under nan agreement, El Salvador would person $6 cardinal from nan U.S.

In April, nan Trump management mistakenly deported a Maryland resident and Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego García pinch protected position successful nan U.S., becoming yet different ineligible and governmental flashpoint. Bukele primitively refused to return Abrego García and denied accusations of beating and torture — which person been wide documented by quality authorities groups successful Salvadoran prisons.

He was later returned to nan U.S. successful June to look charges that he helped bring immigrants to nan U.S. illegally, thing his lawyers telephone “baseless.” Abrego García has pleaded not blameworthy and asked a judge to disregard his lawsuit arsenic nan U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it hoped to deport Abrego García to Liberia.

Even much recently, Bukele joined a conjugation of different right-leaning Trump friends successful a group of countries that Trump dubbed nan Shield of nan Americas, purportedly aimed astatine cracking down connected criminal groups successful Latin America, moreover though nan 2 astir basal countries successful that effort — Mexico and Colombia — refused to attend.

Meanwhile, galore migrants successful nan U.S. are turning their eyes connected U.S. Supreme Court arguments arsenic Trump seeks to extremity shielding hundreds of thousands of migrants from Haiti and Syria, a determination galore of nan much than 200,000 Salvadoran migrants pinch impermanent protections interest mightiness yet impact them.

Bukele has helped nan U.S. pinch its migration schedule moreover earlier Trump entered office.

In 2023, El Salvador’s authorities began to slap a $1,130 interest connected travelers from dozens of countries connecting done nan nation’s main airport, amid unit from nan Biden management to thief power nan number of migrants moving toward nan United States’ confederate border. At nan aforesaid time, migration from El Salvador, fueled by pack unit and poverty, dipped pursuing Bukele’s contentious warfare connected nan gangs.

Analysts said that Bukele’s authorities utilized dips successful migration arsenic a bargaining spot to offset quality authorities criticisms by nan U.S.

Alemán and Janetsky constitute for nan Associated Press. AP writer Megan Janetsky reported from Mexico City.