Nayib Bukele

Through a rollout of slickly produced videos featuring chained and tattooed men roughly escorted off planes, Nayib Bukele has won the US president's attention and admiration.

A report is claiming that El Salvador sought the repatriation of a top MS-13 leader to prevent him from revealing shady deals between gangs and President Nayib Bukele

When asked by The Associated Press whether detainees could be indefinitely held in El Salvador's CECOT prison, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem declined to clarify

Among those deported to El Salvador was César Humberto López Larios, one of the original members of the "Twelve Apostles of the Devil," a group considered foundational to the establishment and expansion of MS-13's influence across the U.S. and Latin America.

The statement comes amid rising tensions between both countries, as the U.S. deported 238 Venezuelans with alleged ties to the "Tren de Aragua" gang to El Salvador on Saturday

Some family members of Venezuela deportees claim their loved ones were deported due to having tattoos commonly used by Tren de Aragua gang members

The Venezuelan regime has pledged to take all possible measures to secure the return of over 200 Venezuelans deported by the United States to El Salvador

Families of Venezuelans sent to El Salvador dispute Trump administration's claims linking deportees to the Tren de Aragua gang based solely on tattoos.

The Trump administration moved quickly to deport approximately 250 Venezuelan nationals it accused of gang affiliation, seeking to avoid a federal judge's order to halt the action

Political observers argue that the U.S. government may be labeling migrants as Tren de Aragua members based solely on their tattoos

Amid mass deportation hurdles, Trump Administration leverages El Salvador's mega-Prison to ease domestic strain

Nayib Bukele is under fire among Bitcoiners and prominent figures in the crypto industry after he insisted that El Salvador will not halt its strategic Bitcoin reserve even if the IMF's funding deal clearly states that the country is prohibited from buying $BTC throughout the funding program's duration.

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, who has carried out a sweeping crackdown on crime, offered the use of a maximum-security prison, Latin America's largest, when he met Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday.

Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele said his administration is willing to take in "only convicted criminals" in exchange for a fee

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the deal includes an offer from Bukele to house dangerous criminals who are American citizens or legal residents, within Salvadoran prisons.

El Salvador had to concede to some of the IMF's conditions to reach an agreement with the UN financial agency for a massive loan that could help boost its ailing economy, but it clarified Sunday that it will not give up on its Bitcoin strategic reserve.

El Salvador was the first country in the world to ban the mining of metals in 2017, warning of the harmful effects of the chemicals used in mining, like cyanide and mercury.

Ecuador's homicide rate increased from 6.7 per 100,000 in 2019 to 45 per 100,000 in 2023; only Jamaica (49) has a higher rate in the Americas

Nayib Bukele is just one of the many Bitcoiners who feel vindicated after Bitcoin hit new all-time highs, but the El Salvadoran leader's case is particularly special, as he refused to bend to skeptics who questioned his $BTC strategy.

The list also includes president Braziluan Lula da Silva and Panama's Jose Raúl Mulino but not Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum

Gaetz, chair of the Congressional El Salvador Caucus, called the allegations "baseless" and criticized the local organization, CISPES

Their stark ideological differences have exceeded the personal realm and impacted the countries' diplomatic relations

El Salvador isn't allowing a week-long Bitcoin slump to discourage its Bitcoin treasury goals as it did, as proven by on-chain data, purchase one BTC daily in the past 11 days.

"We've decided to transfer a big chunk of our bitcoin to a cold wallet, and store that cold wallet in a physical vault within our national territory," Bukele said on social media site X.

The escalation comes as other countries in the region are also experiencing a deterioration of security conditions

El Salvador holds at least 2,860 bitcoins, based on President Bukele's official announcements

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Jamaica to discuss the rapidly deteriorating situation with the CARICOM.

Bukele, 42, is wildly popular at home and across Latin America for his crackdown on gangsters, even as rights activists raise alarm over arbitrary arrests and inhumane prison conditions.

Latin America is frequently atop the list of most dangerous regions for journalists to work

They utilized their CPAC participation to solidify their positions among the international far-right and to get closer to Trump