Rubio says El Salvador's president has offered to jail American criminals

• Rubio made the announcement that was criticized by human rights groups while visiting El Salvador as part of a wider trip across Latin America to push for President Trump's "America First" policy, which includes plans for large-scale deportations of undocumented immigrants.

Driving the news: Rubio called Bukele's offer "an act of extraordinary friendship" and said it would include accepting for deportation "any criminal from any nationality," even members of the international criminal gangs MS-13 or Tren de Aragua, which Trump has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.

• Among those Bukele has offered to house in Salvadoran jails are "dangerous American criminals in custody in our country, including those of U.S. citizenship and legal residents." 
• Rubio added: "No country's ever made an offer of friendship such as this."

Zoom in: Bukele said on X he'd offered the U.S. the "opportunity to outsource part of its prison system."

• He added: "We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee. The fee would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable."

The big picture: Bukele's harsh anti-gang measures saw violent crime fall in El Salvador, but critics have said the results have been at the expense of civil rights and incarceration rates have soared.

• A State Department advisory says El Salvador's prison and detention center conditions are "harsh and dangerous," while overcrowding "constitutes a serious threat to prisoners' health and lives."
• In many facilities, "provisions for sanitation, potable water, ventilation, temperature control, and lighting are inadequate or nonexistent," it adds.

What they're saying: Latino advocacy group the Board of the League of United Latin American Citizens called the deal "a sad day for America," per CNN.

• LULAC "opposes treating deported non-criminal migrants like cattle who can be shuttled from one country to another without regard to their home of origin," added Roman Palomares, the group's national president and chair.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.