El Salvador’s Bukele Blasts CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Over 'Preposterous' Question, Declines to Repatriate MS-13 Suspect

During a meeting at the Oval Office on Wednesday, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele pushed back strongly when asked whether his government would send Kilmar Abrego Garcia—an alleged MS-13 gang member—back to the U.S.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins raised the issue during the joint appearance, prompting a sharp response from Bukele: “I suppose you’re not suggesting that I smuggle a terrorist into the United States. Right?” he said. “How can I return him to the United States? … I’m not going to do it.”

Calling the line of questioning “preposterous,” Bukele added, “I don’t have the power to return him to the United States.”

Abrego Garcia was deported by the Trump administration last month and is currently incarcerated in El Salvador. But the situation has drawn legal and diplomatic scrutiny after U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the administration to "facilitate and effectuate the return" of the suspect—an order that the Supreme Court questioned.

In a recent decision, the high court flagged the term “effectuate” as potentially exceeding judicial authority and advised the lower court to “clarify its directive,” underscoring the constitutional boundaries between the judiciary and the executive on matters of foreign policy.

The exchange took a broader turn when Collins asked former President Trump if he planned to request Bukele's cooperation in returning Abrego Garcia. Trump redirected the question to Attorney General Pam Bondi, who emphasized that Garcia had been “illegally in our country,” citing two court rulings from 2019 that labeled him an MS-13 member.

“If they wanted to return him, we would facilitate it—meaning provide a plane,” Bondi noted, but stressed that the final decision rests with El Salvador.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller also criticized the idea of pressing El Salvador, saying, “He’s a citizen of El Salvador, so it’s very arrogant, even, for the American media, to suggest that we would even tell El Salvador how to handle their own citizens.” Miller accused Judge Xinis of essentially asking the U.S. to “kidnap a citizen of El Salvador and fly him back here.”

“No version of this legally ends up with him ever living here because he is a citizen of El Salvador,” Miller added. “That is the president of El Salvador. Your questions on it, per the [Supreme Court], can only be directed to him.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also entered the fray, reinforcing the administration’s position: “I don’t understand what the confusion is. This individual is a citizen of El Salvador. He was illegally in the United States and was returned to his country.”

Rubio pointed to the constitutional framework, saying, “The foreign policy of the United States is conducted by the president of the United States, not by a court.”

When Collins pressed again, asserting that the Supreme Court ruling required Garcia’s return, Trump cut her off: “How long do we have to answer this question? Why don’t you just say, ‘Isn’t it wonderful that we’re keeping criminals out of our country?’”

Watch the exchange on X: