Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Fox News Monday that a photo of her standing in front of a cell that held several inmates at an El Salvador prison was meant to send a message.
Noem visited a high-security El Salvador prison on Wednesday. There, she inspected two crowded cell blocks and the armory. She also visited an isolation unit where Venezuelans — said by the Trump administration to be gang members — are detained following their removal from the United States. During an appearance on “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Noem described her trip.
In addition to El Salvador, Noem also traveled to Columbia and Mexico. She spoke with the presidents of all three countries.
“My task as Homeland Security secretary is to secure the homeland of the United States of America. So I have jurisdiction over every person that comes in and out of this country, every product that comes in and out of this country, and everything that transpires over the internet. Talking to these presidents of these three countries was very productive,” Noem said.
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In El Salvador, Noem met with President Nayib Bukele and toured the CCOT prison, a facility designed to hold members of Tren de Aragua and MS-13. Noem said that the images captured during her tour of the prison were intentionally shared with the public to communicate the consequences facing those who threaten American communities.
“People need to see that image. They need to see that the United States is going to use every tool that we have to make our communities safer. That is a consequence of someone who is a terrorist. The president has declared Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as terrorist organizations. And the president of El Salvador has as well. The only people allowed in that prison are terrorists,” Noem said. “To tour that and to look at that was giving the American people the transparency that they want out of their government. They were able to see exactly where we’re sending these people who have murdered and raped Americans that have decimated communities.”
I toured the CECOT, El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center.
President Trump and I have a clear message to criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW.
If you do not leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvadorian prison. pic.twitter.com/OItDqNsFxM
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) March 26, 2025
The discussions in El Salvador also touched on future cooperation, with the Salvadoran president agreeing to continue accepting high-risk individuals labeled as terrorists.
“There’s going to be consequences for individuals who continue to do that. My conversation with that president was ‘Will you take more of these terrorists?’ And he said ‘Absolutely we will. We will take the worst of the worst and make sure that they’re facing consequences for what they’ve done to your country,’” Noem said.
MS-13 is an international crime organization responsible for numerous murders, rapes, and other severe offenses nationwide. Originally formed in Los Angeles, the gang is now predominantly linked to Salvadoran nationals.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/Fox News)
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