US Homeland Security secretary to visit El Salvador's prison holding deported gang members

WASHINGTON

US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem will travel to El Salvador, Colombia, and Mexico this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday.

On Wednesday, Noem will tour El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison in Tecoluca, alongside Minister of Justice Gustavo Villatoro. The facility houses alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, who were recently deported by the US.

The secretary is also scheduled to meet with President Nayib Bukele, DHS said in a statement.

The trip was first announced by Fox News.

DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told the network that the trip "underscores the importance of our partner countries to help remove violent criminal illegal aliens from the United States".

"If you come to our country and break our laws, we will hunt you down, and lock you up," McLaughlin said.

The secretary will then travel to Colombia on March 27 to meet with President Gustavo Petro and law enforcement officials, before concluding her trip in Mexico on March 28 with President Claudia Sheinbaum.