El Salvador's Bukele to Meet Trump at White House – Is Bitcoin on the Table?

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele will meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House next month to discuss security cooperation and immigration enforcement, after El Salvador agreed to take in hundreds of gang members deported from the United States, officials have confirmed.

Bukele Arrives at White House After Accepting Deported Gang Members from the US

Bukele's office confirmed on March 28, 2025, that the visit would focus on the US-Salvador deal, which saw El Salvador accept 238 alleged members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang and 23 MS-13 members deported from the US in March.

The US paid $6 million to house these individuals in the Center for the Detention of Terrorists (CECOT)—a 40,000-person facility in El Salvador.

In addition to security, the meeting could touch on cryptocurrency policy, as both leaders have expressed support for Bitcoin (BTC). Bukele made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021, and El Salvador currently holds 6,131 BTC (worth about $504 million). Meanwhile, the Trump administration established the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) in early March.

El Salvador Continues to Strengthen Its Commitment to Bitcoin

The Bukele administration continues to buy Bitcoin daily, tweeting in March 2025:

“We will not stop.”

Initiatives like “Bitcoin City,” a tax-free crypto hub powered by geothermal energy from volcanoes, are still being pushed to position El Salvador as a global hub for crypto innovation.

Bloomberg also revealed that Donald Trump Jr. attended Bukele’s inauguration in June, indicating that the relationship between the two sides is growing stronger.

If the meeting takes place, Bukele would become the first Western Hemisphere leader to make an official visit to the White House under Trump’s current term—signaling a stronger bilateral relationship.

Regarding the upcoming meeting, Bukele humorously posted on X: "I'll bring a few cans of Diet Coke."