President Donald Trump was accused of defying a court order as he flew more than 200 alleged ‘Venezuelan gang members’ to CECOT, a notoriously violent ‘mega-prison’ in El Salvador.
US District Judge James E. Boasberg temporarily halted the deportations on Saturday (March 15), but the Trump administration informed him that they were already airborne – and so he verbally instructed for them to be turned around.
They were not, and El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, even goaded the Californian judge on Twitter by reacting to a post about Trump disobeying court orders. Writing: “Oopsie…Too late.”
US deportees arrive at CECOT, one of the world’s toughest prisons, located in El Salvador (Salvadoran Government via Getty Images)
However, White House secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement to say that Trump and his administration ‘did not refuse to comply with a court order’.
Now, senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official Robert Cerna has admitted in a court filing that ‘many’ of the people who were deported have no previous convictions.
“[A] lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose,” claimed the acting field office director.
“It demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile.”
US President Donald Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, pictured in 2019 (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
The order to deport the alleged criminals came after Trump attempted to force them through via a wartime declaration designed in the 18th century that would assist in deporting the alleged gang members.
While Cerna’s court filing called on Boasberg to reverse his initial ruling.
Meanwhile, President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro has denounced the Trump administration’s decision.
On Sunday (March 16), he called out the ‘threat of kidnapping’ Venezuelan teens as young as 14 by labeling them as terrorists, claiming they have been ‘considered criminals simply for being Venezuelan’.
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
Posting on social media about his new arrivals, Bukele wrote in part: “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, but a high one for us.
“Over time, these actions, combined with the production already being generated by more than 40,000 inmates engaged in various workshops and labor under the Zero Idleness program, will help make our prison system self-sustainable. As of today, it costs $200 million per year.”
