Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s offer to take in convicted criminals, including convicted U.S. citizens, and house them in the country’s “mega-prison” would have to first be fully studied.

Rubio — in remarks given during a joint press conference in San José, Costa Rica, alongside President Rodrigo Chaves — described Bukele’s offer as “incredible” and “unprecedented” while explaining that its legality would have to be analyzed before the administration of President Donald Trump makes a decision on the matter.

“That’s an offer President Bukele made. Obviously, we’ll have to study it on our end. There are obviously legalities involved. We have a Constitution, we have all sorts of things. But it’s a very generous offer,” Secretary Rubio said. “No one’s ever made an offer like that, and – to outsource at a fraction of the cost at least some of the most dangerous and violent criminals that we have in the United States.”

“But obviously, the administration will have to make a decision, and it’s – but it’s – I raised it yesterday because it’s an incredible offer, an unprecedented one,” he continued.

Secretary Rubio is presently conducting a five-stop Central American tour of Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic. Rubio’s week-long tour is his first overseas trip since his confirmation as secretary of state.

During his visit to El Salvador on Monday, President Nayib Bukele said that, in exchange for a fee, El Salvador would be willing to house convicted criminals, including convicted U.S. citizens, on the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) — a 40,000-bed “mega-prison” that the Salvadoran government inaugurated in 2023. The center currently houses thousands of the nation’s most dangerous criminals and members of violent gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha-13 (MS-13) and 18th Street.

The unspecified fee, Bukele explained on social media, would be “relatively low” for the United States but “significant for us” and would make El Salvador’s prison system “sustainable,” according to the Salvadoran President.

President Bukele described the offer on Tuesday as “the most extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world.”

As part of Secretary Rubio’s visit to El Salvador, the United States signed a memorandum of understanding with the Central American nation to help develop its “civil nuclear energy,” including the development of the country’s nuclear infrastructure.

Secretary Rubio referred to President Bukele’s offer in remarks given during the memorandum’s signing ceremony. Rubio, who commended El Salvador’s cooperation for the return of illegal Salvadoran migrants to their country, said that the United States is “profoundly grateful for the offer” and that he had already spoken to President Trump about the offer prior to the signing ceremony — stressing that “No country’s ever made an offer of friendship such as this.”

“You can think about it: any unlawful immigrant, illegal immigrant in the United States who’s a dangerous criminal – MS-13, Tren de Aragua, whatever it may be – he has offered his jails so we can send them here and he will put them in his jails,” Rubio said. “And he’s also offered to do the same for dangerous criminals currently in custody and serving their sentences in the United States, even if they’re U.S. citizens or legal residents.“

“We are just profoundly grateful. I spoke to President Trump about this earlier today, and it’s just one more sign of what an incredible friend we have here in President Bukele and the people of El Salvador,” he continued.

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.