The meeting in numbers and context: On April 14, 2025, Nayib Bukele became the first Spanish-speaking president from the Americas to be received by Donald Trump on U.S. soil during Trump’s second administration.
Let us recall that in January 2024, Donald Trump called Nayib Bukele in an official phone call. As far as we know, that call was also the first official call Trump made as a newly elected president in his second term to a Latin American leader.
As for the recent meeting, it was held in the Oval Office, in contrast to their first encounter on September 25, 2019, which took place in a non-protocol location — a reflection of Bukele’s rising political weight.
Let’s watch a video to get a clearer picture of how that 2019 meeting unfolded.
It is worth noting that in that first meeting, both Bukele and Trump were serving their first terms as presidents of their respective countries.
In this new meeting, both meet again as presidents serving their second terms.
Who was at the meeting: High-level delegations
On the U.S. side:
- Marco Rubio (Vice President)
- Pam Bondi (Attorney General)
- Kristi Noem (Secretary of Homeland Security): During her official visit to Latin America, she traveled to El Salvador and toured the CECOT prison to observe firsthand how the country incarcerates criminals.
- Secretary of Justice
- Among other key individuals
You might also like: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio Meets President Nayib Bukele
On El Salvador’s side:
- Gustavo Villatoro (Minister of Security) (Do you want to see his account on X.com?)
- René Francis Merino Monroy (Minister of Defense) (Do you want to see his account on X.com?)
- Milena Mayorga (Ambassador of El Salvador to the U.S.)
- Alexandra Hill Tinoco (Foreign Minister)
- Bukele’s personal secretary (former interim president in 2024)
Let’s watch the video of the official meeting held on April 14, 2025 — that is, the official meeting we’re discussing in this post. The video was uploaded to Nayib Bukele’s official YouTube channel.
You might also like: San Salvador marks 500 years since its founding
Topics publicly addressed
The meeting began publicly, first before the main cameras from both El Salvador and the United States, and later allowed access to the U.S. press. Among the topics that were publicly discussed in front of the media were:
Extradition of gang members to El Salvador
Trump prioritized the transfer of gang members (classified as terrorists in El Salvador) to prisons such as CECOT, a maximum-security center promoted by the Salvadoran government as a model facility. Trump jokingly said that they needed around five of those prisons, to which Nayib Bukele responded with laughter and agreement.
The U.S. seeks to reduce prison costs and remove criminals from its territory, which El Salvador has seen as a business opportunity to outsource incarceration services. This way, both countries benefit: while El Salvador monetizes its penitentiary system by charging for hosting foreign inmates, the U.S. simply pays rent for the convicts and gets rid of them.
You might also like: Bukele’s Proposal: Outsourcing U.S. Prison Inmates to El Salvador
Worth noting: El Salvador is one of the countries with the lowest U.S.-imposed tariffs.
The videos produced by El Salvador’s government showcasing their war on crime:
Trump praised “the tapes” (referring to the videos) created by the Salvadoran government that show how they take criminals off the streets and into prison. These videos document everything: their capture, interviews, preparation for confinement, the organization of police and prison staff, and the incarceration process.
In the case of prisoners sent from the U.S. to El Salvador, the videos begin from the moment they get off the plane and are handed over to Salvadoran authorities.
Trump seriously said the videos were excellent, and jokingly asked Bukele if he could use his video team. He also mentioned that even the sound design was good — “like watching a movie” — and that the videos had a strong impact.
Trump also stated it was an honor to have a friend (implied to be Bukele) visiting and that they got along very well. He later repeated this directly to Bukele, saying he was doing a great job for his country and that he appreciated working with him due to his crime-fighting efforts — something that aligns with the Trump administration’s goals.
“I want to just say, hello to the people of El Salvador and say they have one hell of a president.” — President Donald Trump, during the meeting.
In turn, Bukele said:
“Sometimes they say we imprison thousands; I prefer to say that, in fact, we’ve freed millions.”
(Referring to the liberation of Salvadorans from the oppression of crime and gang rule.)
You might also like: Donald Trump Jr. Arrives in El Salvador for the Inauguration of President Nayib Bukele
Shared concerns and perspectives
In the U.S., the very judicial system is often seen as obstructing the removal of criminals and gang members from the streets — with judges and prosecutors sometimes not only hindering but even aiding them.
The U.S. may see El Salvador as a model for tackling “pro-crime corruption,” since before El Salvador applied its state of emergency (a key tool in its war on crime), the Bukele government first had to clean house within the judicial system — removing judges, prosecutors, and any other officials who defended gangs, crime, or interfered with efforts to restore law and order.
💡 Key points in the Trump-Bukele relationship
More than true friendship, the bond between the two countries is based on commercial and mutual interests.
For Trump, Bukele is a partner in fulfilling his promise to “clean the streets” by deporting convicts to El Salvador, where they are handled by the Salvadoran penitentiary system.
For Bukele, it’s vital that Trump doesn’t harm remittances and continues to treat El Salvador as a privileged commercial ally — especially ensuring that undocumented Salvadorans are not a top priority in Trump’s proposed mass deportation plans.
Strategic admiration: Trump is seen as a strong leader who effectively fights crime, a view aligned with Bukele’s governance style.
The Rubio-Bukele connection:
The warm greeting between them (a hug and a pat on the back) stood in contrast with the more formal greetings exchanged with Trump and other cabinet members, suggesting a stronger bond. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume that Rubio is a key bridge between both administrations.
Noteworthy facts
Commercial preference?
In recent tariff adjustments on exports to the U.S., El Salvador was one of the countries with the lowest base tariffs — at 10%.
The Salvadoran government aims for the self-sustainability of its prison system by charging the U.S. to host convicted inmates (i.e., already sentenced criminals). CECOT currently houses around 300 detainees, the majority of whom, according to U.S. sources, are members of the Tren de Aragua, with others belonging to the Mara Salvatrucha gang.
Additional fact: According to Salvadoran law, a gang member is considered a terrorist, and a gang is classified as a terrorist organization — hence the name CECOT (Terrorism Confinement Center). By law, any gang member who sets foot on Salvadoran soil must serve a minimum of 20 years in prison; gang leaders face even longer sentences (45 to 60 years is the prison sentence for gang leaders).
Not to mention that those sentences are just for being part of a gang — simply being a gang member is a crime and carries a sentence of 20 years or more in prison. If the gang member has committed other crimes, additional years are added on top of that sentence.
Bukele, a master of political strategy
In 2024, he appointed his personal secretary as interim president to temporarily step down, allowing him to run for re-election and “comply” with El Salvador’s constitution. It was questioned, but it worked.
In closing: Was there a secret migrant deal? What other matters were agreed upon behind closed doors? In the case of El Salvador, the topics the U.S. can realistically negotiate are almost exclusively immigration, bilateral trade, and security cooperation, specifically regarding gang suppression. 🇺🇸🇸🇻
