Kristi Noem to Visit El Salvador Prison Housing Deported Gang Members

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is scheduled to travel to Central and South America this week for a series of high-level meetings focused on regional cooperation in deporting violent criminal illegal aliens, including members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gangs.

According to a report from Fox News, Secretary Noem’s trip will span three days, from March 26 to March 28, and include stops in El Salvador, Colombia, and Mexico.

The visit follows recent actions by the Trump administration to ramp up deportation efforts involving gang-affiliated individuals.

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Noem is expected to begin her trip in El Salvador, where she will tour the country’s Terrorist Confinement Center—a high-security prison known for detaining members of violent criminal organizations.

She will also meet with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.

The facility gained international attention last week after receiving hundreds of suspected gang members deported from the United States.

Those deportations came as a result of President Donald Trump’s executive order under the Alien Enemies Act, which authorized the immediate removal of Venezuelan nationals aged 14 and older found to be affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang.

Getting these dirtbags off our streets and out of our country. pic.twitter.com/Pn3ZCDdahk

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) March 22, 2025

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The administration sent two flights carrying suspected gang members to El Salvador.

Upon arrival, footage shared by President Bukele showed detainees being transported by heavily armed guards to the facility.

Today, the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country. They were immediately transferred to CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, for a period of one year (renewable).

The United States will pay a very low fee for them,… pic.twitter.com/tfsi8cgpD6

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 16, 2025

Following a federal court ruling, the specific deportations under the Alien Enemies Act were temporarily paused. However, deportation flights involving other non-citizens have continued.

In a statement to the press, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said the trip “underscores the importance of our partner countries to help remove violent criminal illegal aliens from the United States.”

After her stop in El Salvador, Noem is scheduled to travel to Colombia to meet with President Gustavo Petro.

From there, she will continue on to Mexico for a meeting with newly elected President Claudia Sheinbaum.

The meetings will focus on bilateral cooperation for ongoing deportation efforts and regional security partnerships.

Over the weekend, the Trump administration also resumed deportation flights to Venezuela after reaching a new agreement with the government of Nicolás Maduro.

The deal includes provisions for Venezuela to accept repatriated nationals once again, after a prior pause. The first deportation flight under the updated arrangement landed in Venezuela on Sunday.

Noem’s trip comes as part of the broader Trump administration effort to address transnational criminal organizations and strengthen border enforcement through regional coordination.

The administration has prioritized removing non-citizens involved in violent crime and organized gangs from U.S. soil.

The Department of Homeland Security has not yet released further details about additional deportation flights or whether similar agreements are in progress with other countries in the region.

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