Washington, DC -- Representatives Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Joaquin Castro, Ranking Member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, today sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding documents and information regarding reports that the administration terminated U.S. law enforcement agreements as part of a quid pro quo with El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, to enable third-country removals to the notorious CECOT prison.
“...Since our prior requests for information, it has been reported you personally spoke with President Bukele on March 13, 2025. In this discussion, you reportedly promised that the United States would terminate its informant arrangements with certain high-ranking members of MS-13 in U.S. custody who had been cooperating with law-enforcement so that the men could be turned over to El Salvador, preventing them from testifying in federal courts. In exchange, President Bukele would receive and detain Venezuelan nationals and other deportees from the United States. This quid pro quo was arranged in spite of the reported objection of officials from the Department of Justice, who warned that terminating the informant agreements risked undermining years of work and U.S. law-enforcement agencies’ ability to engage informants in the future...
“We remain deeply concerned that you would prioritize protecting President Bukele’s reputation over delivering justice for American victims of MS-13 crimes by agreeing to give up informants under U.S. protection whose knowledge and testimony is integral to ongoing federal investigations into MS-13 leadership, operations, and ties with President Bukele’s administration. Multiple credible reports have alleged that the Bukele government engaged in direct negotiations with MS-13 leadership between 2019 and 2021 to secure reductions in homicide rates and support for Bukele’s political party in exchange for prison privileges, political protection, or promises to stall gang leader extraditions. One of these leaders, César López Larios6, who was facing serious charges including conspiracy to finance terrorism and support narco-terrorism, was deported to El Salvador two days after your reported March 13 conversation with Bukele.”
A PDF of the full letter can be found here.
This letter follows up on a letter Meeks and Raskin sent in July 2025 regarding the administration’s deal to imprison hundreds of immigrants in El Salvador, and a letter Meeks and Joaquin Castro, Ranking Member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, sent in April requesting documents related to the bilateral deal struck with El Salvador. Contrary to the law, the State Department has refused to provide details on the bilateral agreement.
“...Since our prior requests for information, it has been reported you personally spoke with President Bukele on March 13, 2025. In this discussion, you reportedly promised that the United States would terminate its informant arrangements with certain high-ranking members of MS-13 in U.S. custody who had been cooperating with law-enforcement so that the men could be turned over to El Salvador, preventing them from testifying in federal courts. In exchange, President Bukele would receive and detain Venezuelan nationals and other deportees from the United States. This quid pro quo was arranged in spite of the reported objection of officials from the Department of Justice, who warned that terminating the informant agreements risked undermining years of work and U.S. law-enforcement agencies’ ability to engage informants in the future...
“We remain deeply concerned that you would prioritize protecting President Bukele’s reputation over delivering justice for American victims of MS-13 crimes by agreeing to give up informants under U.S. protection whose knowledge and testimony is integral to ongoing federal investigations into MS-13 leadership, operations, and ties with President Bukele’s administration. Multiple credible reports have alleged that the Bukele government engaged in direct negotiations with MS-13 leadership between 2019 and 2021 to secure reductions in homicide rates and support for Bukele’s political party in exchange for prison privileges, political protection, or promises to stall gang leader extraditions. One of these leaders, César López Larios6, who was facing serious charges including conspiracy to finance terrorism and support narco-terrorism, was deported to El Salvador two days after your reported March 13 conversation with Bukele.”
A PDF of the full letter can be found here.
This letter follows up on a letter Meeks and Raskin sent in July 2025 regarding the administration’s deal to imprison hundreds of immigrants in El Salvador, and a letter Meeks and Joaquin Castro, Ranking Member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, sent in April requesting documents related to the bilateral deal struck with El Salvador. Contrary to the law, the State Department has refused to provide details on the bilateral agreement.