US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a landmark migration agreement with El Salvador on February 3, following a meeting with President Nayib Bukele at his lakeside residence near San Salvador. The deal, hailed as "an act of extraordinary friendship," entails El Salvador's offer to accept deportees of any nationality, including US citizens serving prison sentences.

“[Bukele] has agreed to the most unprecedented, extraordinary, extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world,” Rubio said during a signing ceremony for a civil nuclear agreement. He added that Bukele offered to accept “dangerous criminals currently in custody and serving their sentence in the United States even though they're US citizens or legal residents.” These reportedly include members of infamous criminal gangs such as MS-13 or Tren de Aragua, to be housed in the Central American country's mega-prison in exchange for an undisclosed fee.

However, a US official later clarified that the Trump administration has no current plans to deport American citizens, noting that such actions would face significant legal challenges, as the US government cannot legally deport its own citizens.

The announcement came during Rubio's five-nation Central American tour, which includes stops in Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. His visit focuses primarily on migration issues and aligns with the White House's broader strategy to curb illegal immigration to the United States. Rubio is the first Latino to serve as America's top diplomat and is known for his hawkish stance against socialist regimes in the region such as Cuba, from where he originates, and Venezuela.

El Salvador’s support is a significant boost to the Trump administration, particularly after the US government last week engaged in a mass deportation agenda which primarily involved countries such as Colombia and Guatemala. With Colombia softening its combative stance against such measures and Venezuela's acceptance of deported migrants from the US, Bukele's cooperation is set to harden Washington's resolve against illegal immigration despite initial backlash from several leaders across Latin America.