The Donald Trump administration is negotiating an agreement with El Salvador that would allow the United States to deport migrants from third countries, including alleged members of organized crime, according to officials who spoke to CBS News. The proposal is framed within a "Safe Third Country" agreement that would send migrants from other countries to El Salvador to apply for asylum protections from there instead of doing so on U.S. soil.
According to reports, this agreement could be primarily aimed at the deportation of Venezuelans and thus avoid facing the rejection of Nicolás Maduro's government to repatriations. Furthermore, the plan includes deporting alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua, which Trump seeks to designate as a "terrorist organization" and has been cited as responsible for crimes against Americans.
The pact between the United States and El Salvador emulates a similar one negotiated during Trump's first term, which never materialized and was discarded by the Joe Biden administration. Former President Trump recently held a conversation with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, in which the need to stop illegal migration and confront transnational gangs like Tren de Aragua was discussed.
On the other hand, in a related situation, dozens of people headed to the U.S. embassy in Bogotá seeking answers about the suspension of visa services after the State Department retaliated against Colombia's refusal to accept two deportation flights of migrants. Despite receiving cancellation notifications via email, many people went to the embassy seeking additional information.
One of the affected individuals, Andrea Vélez, expressed her frustration at not receiving clear answers regarding the status of her procedures. The governments of the United States and Colombia eventually managed to overcome the crisis caused by this decision and agreed to resume the issuance of visas, following the suspension measure imposed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Moreover, as part of the sanctions, President Trump ordered the imposition of tariffs on Colombian products and will implement other measures in the coming days.
