Former President Donald Trump intensified his warnings against those who vandalize Tesla vehicles. In a social media post on Friday, he suggested that those convicted of damaging or destroying these cars—including U.S. citizens—could be sent to prisons in El Salvador.
“I want to see those sick terrorist thugs serve 20 years in prison for what they’re doing to Elon Musk and Tesla,” Trump declared. He added sarcastically, “Maybe they could serve their sentences in El Salvador’s prisons, which have recently become famous for their charming conditions!”
In recent weeks, several cities have reported acts of vandalism against Tesla cars and dealerships, apparently in protest of Musk’s plans to drastically restructure the federal government and lay off a large number of public employees. So far, no serious injuries have been reported.
Last month, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele offered to incarcerate convicted criminals from the United States in his country. In line with this, the U.S. recently deported Venezuelan migrants accused of belonging to a criminal gang, despite a federal judge ordering the deportation flights to return with the detainees. The judge has vowed to continue investigating the case and has accused the Trump administration of failing to cooperate.
Human rights organizations report that Salvadoran prisons, known for their overcrowding, hold tens of thousands of detainees, including innocent individuals. One of the main facilities in the country’s penitentiary system, the Center for Confinement of Terrorism, has the capacity to house up to 40,000 inmates, some as young as 12 years old.
Analysts point out that a proposal to imprison U.S. citizens in a foreign country would be unlikely to withstand judicial scrutiny.
Trump, who previously granted pardons to hundreds of people convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, has taken a particular interest in imposing harsh punishments on those who vandalize Tesla cars. His stance emerged after a journalist asked him at a White House event whether those responsible for such acts should be considered domestic terrorists. “I will do it,” Trump responded. “I’m going to stop them.”
While no immediate action was taken at the time, a week later, Attorney General Pam Bondi classified these attacks as “domestic terrorism.”
On Thursday, Bondi highlighted recent arrests related to arson attacks, claiming they were supposedly linked to a larger conspiracy involving people “operating behind the scenes to coordinate and finance these crimes.” Earlier this week, Trump suggested—without providing evidence—during a Fox News interview that the vandalism was funded by “very political left-wing people,” echoing his previous claims about movements like Black Lives Matter and pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.
Bondi, who developed a close relationship with Trump during her tenure as Florida’s attorney general, supported Trump’s pardons for the January 6 rioters, including those convicted of violent crimes and weapons-related charges. The FBI has described those involved in planning and carrying out the attack as “domestic violent extremists.”
