US defies court order, deports hundreds of Venezuelans
More than 200 Venezuelans alleged by the White House to be gang members have been deported from the US to a supermax prison in El Salvador, even as a US judge blocked the removals.
El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele wrote on social media that 238 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had arrived in the Central American country, along with 23 members of the international MS-13 gang, on Sunday morning, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Neither the US government nor El Salvador has identified the detainees, nor provided details of their alleged criminality or gang membership.
A federal judge's order prevented the Trump administration from invoking a centuries-old wartime law to justify some of the deportations, but the flights had already departed.
"Oopsie... Too late," posted Bukele on social media, referring to the judge's ruling.
A video attached to one of his posts shows lines of people with their hands and feet shackled being escorted by armed officials from the planes.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied the court ruling had been violated.
"The administration did not 'refuse to comply' with a court order," she said.
"The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA [Tren de Aragua] aliens had already been removed from US territory."
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