Marco Rubio, serving as Secretary of State in the Trump administration, has been making headlines this week for several significant and controversial actions that are raising concerns among lawmakers and foreign policy experts.

According to reporting from The Washington Post, Rubio struck a deal with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in March that involved transferring nine MS-13 gang leaders back to El Salvador. What makes this particularly controversial is that some of these leaders were actually serving as informants for the United States government and had been given promises of protection. At least three of these individuals had previously provided testimony suggesting connections between Bukele's government and the gang. One of these informants, César López-Larios, who prosecutors charged with leading MS-13 activities in the United States, was sent back to El Salvador just two days after Rubio's call with Bukele.

The deal was made in exchange for allowing the U.S. to send hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador's notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT, which is infamous for torture and horrific conditions. Over 280 men were initially sent there, though more than 250 were later freed but deported to Venezuela rather than returned to their communities in the United States. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland called the situation shameful, stating that Trump and his associates claim they want to take down MS-13 but are actually conspiring with Bukele to hide evidence of his government's collusion with the gang.

On the diplomatic front, Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday to discuss next steps following last week's talks between Trump and Putin. The conversation focused on working toward a resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war. However, CNN reported that a planned meeting between Rubio and Lavrov was put on hold due to divergent expectations about ending the war. Rubio is reportedly not likely to recommend that a Putin-Trump summit move forward next week as originally planned.

Rubio is also leading the Trump administration's aggressive campaign against Venezuela, utilizing his unusual double role as both Secretary of State and national security adviser to quickly execute policies he has been advocating for over a decade.

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