Trump-Bukele Deal Reshapes Deportation Dynamics

Bukele’s shift from negotiating with MS-13 to jailing thousands may stabilize El Salvador but risks creating new waves of asylum-seekers escaping repression.

ANALYSIS: President Nayib Bukele’s transformation of El Salvador from one of the world’s most dangerous nations to a country with dramatically reduced homicide rates has been hailed as a miracle by supporters and scrutinized as authoritarian by critics. Central to this story are allegations that Bukele, before and during his presidency, negotiated with MS-13 and other gangs to secure political power, only to later unleash a relentless crackdown that has reshaped the nation’s security landscape.

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