The government of El Salvador has released a propaganda video showing shackled detainees being forcibly led off planes, further highlighting its strategy of using humiliating videos to deport migrants.
The three-minute clip, released on Sunday morning by President Nayib Bukele’s office, was viewed almost 39 million times in three days across social media. The video features Venezuelan migrants who were recently deported from the United States, as well as suspected members of the MS-13 gang.
El Salvador has been making prosecuting and incarcerating gangs a key part of its tenure since President Bukele took office in 2019. This approach includes producing polished videos of arrests and imprisonments, such as the one released this year showing detainees being moved into a new prison facility.
Human rights groups have criticized these tactics, saying they aim to dehumanize migrants. “These are videos that typically humiliate and try to dehumanize the people who are detained there,” said Juanita Goebertus Estrada, director of the Americas division of Human Rights Watch.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has released similar propaganda videos featuring deportations and detention centers. This is part of a new hard-line approach to immigration, which includes using visceral and humiliating visuals to present deportation efforts.
The use of such tactics raises concerns about due process and civil liberties in El Salvador. The country’s president announced last month that it would take in deportees from the US for a fee at a new megaprison, further highlighting the country’s willingness to adopt such approaches.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/world/americas/deportation-videos-el-salvador.html