Trump and Bukele busines
April 05, 2025
Case of Kilmer Abrego García,a Salvadoran man with legal protection in the U.S., wrongfully deported to a megaprison without charges,sets a dangerous precedent. If ICE can "accidentally" deport individuals with secured legal rights, any immigrant becomes vulnerable to administrative kidnapping, violating both U.S. law and the sovereignty of other nations. Under Bukele, El Salvador accepted Abrego as a "gang member" without evidence, displaying him in propaganda videos where detainees are shirtless and humiliated,a practice reminiscent of inhumane treatment of political prisoners.
The situation mirrors historical abuses, such as Venezuelan deportees paraded by the U.S. in cages, treated as "trophies" of Trump’s anti-immigration policies, or the Fujimori-Peru (1990s) case, where the government negotiated with the U.S. to hand over suspects in exchange for political favors. Fujimori used extraditions and arbitrary detentions to appease Washington, just as Bukele now uses U.S. deportees to fill his prisons and bolster his "strongman" image. The difference is that, in Abrego’s case, the U.S. delivered an innocent man to a regime that has imprisoned over 70,000 people without trial.
The cruelty is the same: whether Venezuelans in cages, Salvadorans in megaprisons, or hostages of deals like Fujimori’s, dehumanization serves political spectacle. Trump and Bukele use migrant bodies as propaganda tools, while justice is ignored. Without international pressure, cases like Abrego’s will become routine,a violation disguised as an "administrative error," where powerful states outsource repression, and authoritarian governments turn humans into display pieces.
Fujimori collaborated with the U.S. in operations like the surrender of alleged terrorists (often without evidence) in exchange for political and economic support. Today, Bukele receives U.S. deportees,including innocent people,and labels them "gang members" to justify his state of emergency. The difference? Fujimori negotiated openly, while today the U.S. washes its hands, calling illegal deportations "mistakes." Yet the result is the same: people become bargaining chips, and national sovereignty becomes a stage for authoritarianism.
Exodus by Phil Day January 20th, 2021. Satire from Phillip Day @dayphilday (cartoonist for the New Yorker)