A new Washington Post investigation reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised to return nine MS-13 gang leaders in U.S. custody to El Salvador earlier this year, a deal that officials say jeopardized U.S. informants and disrupted ongoing law enforcement operations.
According to the report, Rubio reached the agreement in March 2025 with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in exchange for U.S. access to El Salvador’s high-security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). The facility houses thousands of gang members, including high-profile MS-13 leaders.
U.S. officials told The Post the deal terminated protection programs for several informants who had cooperated with U.S. investigations into MS-13, leaving them vulnerable to retaliation once the gang leaders were returned. Critics say the move undermines U.S. law enforcement credibility and could deter future cooperation from informants in organized crime cases.
National security experts described the decision as “unprecedented” and “deeply concerning,” warning it could compromise counterterrorism and anti-gang efforts. Supporters within the administration, however, have defended the deal as necessary for maintaining strategic relations with Bukele’s government, which has drawn global attention for its harsh anti-gang policies.
Neither the State Department nor the Salvadoran government has publicly commented on the informant safety concerns raised in the report.
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