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Donald Trump has suggested “homegrown criminals” in the US could be deported to jails in El Salvador – saying the US attorney general is “studying the laws right now”.

He made the comment while speaking alongside the Central American nation’s president, Nayib Bukele, in the White House.

The Trump administration has sent hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members to CECOT, a maximum security prison in El Salvador, since March.

When asked about the deportations – which were briefly blocked by a US court last month – Mr Trump said: “I’d like to go a step further.

“We also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways, hit elderly ladies on the back of the head when they’re not looking, that are absolute monsters.

“I’d like to include them in people to get out of the country.”

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele (not pictured) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 14, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Pic: Reuters

When pressed on the matter by a reporter, he replied: “They’re as bad as anybody that comes in. We have bad ones too. I’m all for it.”

US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was present at the meeting, is “studying the laws right now”, the US president added.

“If we can do that, that’s good,” he said. “I’m talking about violent people, really bad people.

“We can do things with the president [of El Salvador] for less money and have great security. He does a great job with that. We have other we’re negotiating with too.”

The ‘world’s coolest dictator’ said all the right things for Trump

Nayib Bukele is a master of optics.

His look was slick – a black suit and long-sleeve black t-shirt beneath – fitting for the man who’s dubbed himself “the world’s coolest dictator”.

And the Salvadorian president said all the right things, aligning his few chosen words with US priorities.

“How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” he replied, when asked if he’d be returning a prisoner deported by mistake.

That will have gone down well in the White House.

The Oval Office has become a diplomatic minefield since Donald Trump returned to power.

Sir Keir Starmer’s letter from the King was considered a masterstroke. Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s scrutinising of foreign policy, quite the opposite.

Others, like Ireland’s premier Micheal Martin, said as little as possible while seated next to Trump.

Bukele didn’t say much either, opting for a touch of deference to “the leader of the free world”.

He wants to position El Salvador as a key player in the region, not just a small country in Latin America.

His authoritarian leanings back home may appeal to the US president.

And Bukele is savvy enough to milk that for all it’s worth.

Read more:
Singer ‘thrown to the lions’ in El Salvador jail
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The Trump administration has been deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members to the El Salvador jail since mid-March, when the US president signed the Alien Enemies Act.

The law from 1798 has been invoked just three times before, in wartime. It allows the president to detain and deport immigrants living in the US legally if they are from countries seen as “enemies” of the government.

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Lawyers and immigrant rights groups have been unable to contact the men sent to the 40,000 capacity CECOT prison – the largest detention facility in Latin America.

A judge issued a temporary block on the deportations on 17 March, but this was lifted by the Supreme Court last week.

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Second fatal bombing in Moscow ’embarrassing’ for Kremlin but helpful timing for Ukraine

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Second fatal bombing in Moscow 'embarrassing' for Kremlin but helpful timing for Ukraine

A second fatal bombing on the streets of Moscow in the space of three days.

We do not know the full details of this latest explosion but the fact these incidents keep happening will be highly embarrassing for the Kremlin.

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Monday’s car bomb that killed Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov was the latest in a long line of high-profile hits on Russian soil since the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Live updates: Ukraine war latest

When a top military official was killed in similar circumstances this time last year, by a bomb hidden in a scooter, Vladimir Putin criticised Russia’s security services and told them they should learn from their mistakes.

It does not look like they have. Since then, there have been many more assassinations of senior officials – both in Moscow and further afield.

Pic: Investigative Committee of Moscow/AP
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Pic: Investigative Committee of Moscow/AP

This latest killing of two police officers in the same area as Monday’s attack only makes things worse.

More on Moscow

It doesn’t just look complacent. It’s starting to appear incompetent.

Although Ukraine has been behind some of the attacks, in this case, it has not commented.

But could this have been Kyiv’s way of trying to change the narrative in the peace talks? To show Donald Trump that Russia doesn’t ‘hold all the cards’?

Pic: Investigative Committee of Moscow/AP
Image:
Pic: Investigative Committee of Moscow/AP

The timing has certainly been helpful for Ukraine, coinciding with the latest negotiations. So perhaps it’s no coincidence that Kyiv has seemingly made progress in convincing Washington to agree to a less punishing peace proposal.

Article 5-style security guarantees are a big win for Ukraine, as is an allowance to retain the strength of its armed forces.

They are yet to convince the US on territory, but it’s still progress nonetheless.

Will Moscow agree to the other points? Don’t hold your breath.

Russia’s position “is well known”, the Kremlin said, when asked for its reaction to the latest proposals, suggesting it remains unmoved in its opposition to a security guarantee involving foreign troops.

But even so, it seems the spotlight is back on Moscow.

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Families reunited with kidnapped Nigerian schoolchildren in time for Christmas

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Families reunited with kidnapped Nigerian schoolchildren in time for Christmas

Families in Nigeria were reunited with more than a hundred schoolchildren and teachers abducted in November.

The tearful reunions happened just in time for Christmas.

“This Christmas, since we are celebrating Christmas with our children, we are so glad. And this Christmas will be different from the others,” said Yusuf Timothy, whose daughter, Rejoice, was among those freed.

The hostages were abducted in November. Pic: AP
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The hostages were abducted in November. Pic: AP

Loved ones of the kidnapped children had an emotional reunion. Pic: AP
Image:
Loved ones of the kidnapped children had an emotional reunion. Pic: AP

Mr Timothy said his family had to put their life on hold since the attack.

“Sometimes, even though I’m asleep with my wife, if we wake up, we will start thinking. We will start crying. When are we going to see our child?” he said.

The group of children and teachers were the last to be freed after the 21 November attack on St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri.

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“I am happy, I am happy,” said Rita Marcus, who was reunited with her son, tears flowing down her face.

“This happiness, it is too much.”

The attack on the Papiri school was one of Nigeria's biggest mass kidnappings. Pic: AP
Image:
The attack on the Papiri school was one of Nigeria’s biggest mass kidnappings. Pic: AP

The children’s loved ones checked them for injuries and lifted them high in the air as they celebrated the hostages coming home.

Most of the children were between 10 and 17, according to the school.


Nigeria kidnappings explained

Nigerian authorities initially said 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers had been kidnapped but later revised the number to 230.

They say all of the hostages have now been released.

Although school kidnappings in Nigeria have become a major security issue, the November attack was one of the country’s biggest mass kidnappings in recent years.

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What we learned from the latest release of Epstein files

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What we learned from the latest release of Epstein files

A trove of newly released Epstein files include emails that appear to involve Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, while another suggests Donald Trump travelled on the billionaire’s private jet “many more times than previously has been reported”.

The US Department of Justice released at least 11,000 more files on Tuesday.

It went on to claim that some of them “contain untrue and sensationalist claims” about President Trump.

Here are some of the latest news lines from this release of Epstein files. Being named in these papers does not suggest wrongdoing.

Who is ‘The Invisible Man’?

Among the documents released is an email sent to Ghislaine Maxwell that speaks about “the girls” being “completely shattered” at a Royal Family summer camp at Balmoral.

It is dated 16 August 2001 and sent by a person referred to only as “The Invisible Man”, but whom Sky News is reporting appears to be the former prince, Andrew.

We have come to that conclusion from reviewing the email address used, which is assigned to the Duke of York in Epstein’s contacts book and the chain of correspondence.


Andrew pictured laying on women

In the correspondence, “The Invisible Man” asks Maxwell: “How’s LA? Have you found me some new inappropriate friends?”

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has previously denied any allegations against him.


Watch: What’s in the largest batch of Epstein files?

The Peru trip

Another email appears to show Maxwell arranging “two-legged sight seeing” for “The Invisible Man” during a trip to Peru.

She appears to forward to “The Invisible Man” part of a conversation between herself and another person.

The email says: “I just gave Andrew your telephone no. He is interested in seeing the Nazca lines. He can ride but it is not his favorite sport ie pass on the horses.”

“Some sight seeing some 2 legged sight seeing (read intelligent pretty fun and from good families) and he will be very happy. I know I can rely on you to show him a wonderful time and will only introduce him to friends that you can trust,” Maxwell said.

The context of the email is unclear and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.


Epstein survivor speaks to Sky News after latest release of files

Trump on Epstein’s jet?

The latest bunch of files also includes an email from an unidentified prosecutor dated 7 January, 2020, in which President Trump is mentioned.

The email accuses him of travelling on Epstein’s private jet “many more times than previously has been reported”.

It adds that President Trump “is listed as a passenger on at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996, including at least four flights on which Maxwell was also present”.

The email’s sender and receiver have been redacted. However, at the bottom of the email it says assistant US attorney, Southern District of New York. The name has also been redacted.

President Trump has denied any wrongdoing in relation to his relationship with Epstein, and being on any of Epstein’s flights does not indicate any wrongdoing.

Read more:
Trump defends ‘big boy’ Clinton after Epstein files release
Why Andrew photo in Epstein files is awkward for Royal Family

Limousine driver report about Trump

One of the documents in the release shows a report made to the FBI that was recorded on 27 October 2020.

It includes an unverified claim by a limousine driver that he overheard the US president discussing “abusing some girl” in 1995.

The driver also mentions Trump said “Jeffrey” while on the phone during a journey to Dallas Fort Worth Airport in Texas.

A significant part of the statement, along with the driver’s identity, has been redacted.

The US justice department has said that some of the documents in the latest Epstein files release “contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election”.

“To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” it said.

Postcard mentions ‘our president’

Also among the documents is a postcard that claims to have been sent by Jeffrey Epstein, but has been refuted by the justice department.

In it, the sender tells the recipient: “Our president also shares our love of young, nubile girls.”

It’s not clear who “our president” refers to and the context of the postcard is also unclear.

The US justice department initially said it was “looking into the validity” of the postcard but later said on X that the “FBI has confirmed” the postcard is “FAKE”.

It cited reasons including a claim that the writing does not appear to match Epstein’s and another that the letter was postmarked three days after his death.

Row over unreleased documents

It is believed that many files relating to Epstein are yet to be made public.

There has been anger at the justice department’s slow release of the files, with politicians threatening to launch legal action against Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The deadline for the release of all the documents has passed.

“The DOJ needs to quit ⁠protecting the rich, powerful, and politically connected,” Republican congressman Thomas Massie said.

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