Judge begins process to declare Trump in contempt for kidnapping of compatriot in El Salvador

Published at: 17/04/2025 09:37 AM

A federal judge assured this Wednesday that there is probable cause to declare the Donald Trump administration in contempt for ignoring a court order that requested the return to the United States of planes loaded with immigrants, mostly Venezuelans, from El Salvador, reported Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).

Judge James Boasberg has ordered the Government to act swiftly to avoid more serious consequences for his Administration.

Boasberg has asked the Government of Washington to try to remedy the violation of this order or, failing that, to provide information on the officials involved in the decision to send some 200 Venezuelans to the maximum security prison designed by the Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, to hold indefinitely the most dangerous gang members in the Central American country.

With this decision, the federal judge begins the process of declaring the United States Government in contempt for ignoring a court order. The White House has announced that it will appeal.

The judge maintains that Trump deliberately ignored his March 15 decision to prohibit the deportation of immigrants under the Foreign Enemies Act, legislation of 1798 that allows the president to deport immigrants without a prior court hearing and based solely on their country of birth or citizenship. Trump signed it on a Friday and began with the deportations the next day.

However, the judge's order of March 15 clearly required that these planes return immediately to the United States. That same night, the ships landed in El Salvador, loaded with immigrants who, accused by the Government, of belonging to the extinct gang El Tren de Aragua, an organization declared terrorist by Trump.

In his memorandum, the Washington magistrate said that “the court does not reach such a conclusion lightly or hastily; in fact, it has given the defendants ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions. None of their answers have been satisfactory.” He also argued that judicial decisions must be complied with “no matter how enormous they may be.”

The case was also mediated by the Supreme Court, dissolving Boasberg's order in a narrow ruling, determining that the challenges should have been filed as habeas corpus remedies. However, it is a ruling that does not retroactively invalidate the initial order, according to Boasberg's conclusion.

In a decision of more than 40 pages, Judge James Boasberg accuses the Executive of having ignored with “complete contempt” a court order that instructed him to reverse the shipment of migrants to the Central American country.

“The Constitution does not tolerate intentional disobedience of court orders, especially by officials who have sworn to respect it,” he wrote. Allowing the Government to “annul” court rulings, Boasberg added, “would make a solemn mockery of the Constitution itself.”

The sending of migrants to El Salvador has provoked a series of lawsuits against the Trump administration and rejection by international organizations. The NGO Human Rights Watch, in a report published last week, accused the United States and El Salvador of subjecting these people to a “forced disappearance”.

The Trump Administration has defended the expulsions accusing migrants of having links to the Aragua Train and MS-13 gangs, recently described by Washington as terrorist groups.

However, multiple investigations by US media have shown that most of those expelled to El Salvador have no criminal record.

Mazo News Team