Trump Taps DHS Deputy Secretary as Ambassador to El Salvador

El Salvador has played a high-profile role in the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement, including deportations of Venezuelan gang members.

Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Troy Edgar testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Feb. 25, 2025. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Troy Edgar, deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been nominated to serve as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador.

President Donald Trump announced the nomination on Dec. 16, praising Edgar’s work at DHS. Edgar served during Trump’s first term as the department’s chief financial officer and later as an associate deputy undersecretary, overseeing a roughly $90 billion budget that included funding for immigration enforcement and border wall construction.

The second Trump administration elevated Edgar to the No. 2 position at DHS, where he worked to deliver the president’s campaign promise of the largest mass deportation operation in the nation’s history.

“Since returning to DHS on January 20th, Troy has shown outstanding leadership, delivering strong results in protecting our homeland, and supporting our America First Agenda,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “His experience, discipline, and deep understanding of Border Security and Western Hemisphere challenges make him the PERFECT choice for this critical post.”

Trump described El Salvador as one of the most important U.S. partners in the region, and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele as “a tremendous ally in the fight against crime, cartels, and chaos.”

“Troy will play a key role in advancing our Western Hemisphere strategy, strengthening cooperation with President Bukele, and ensuring the safety and prosperity of both our nations—A big step toward restoring American Strength across Latin America,” he wrote.

El Salvador has played a high-profile role in the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement, particularly in the deportation of individuals accused of committing violent crimes while unlawfully present in the United States.

In March, Trump invoked the wartime Alien Enemies Act to fast-track the removal of members of the Venzuelan transnational crime syndicate Tren de Aragua. More than 250 people have been transferred to El Salvador’s maximum-security prison, known as CECOT, under the act.

Over the summer, those detainees were returned to Venezuela as part of a U.S.-brokered deal that secured the release of 10 U.S. citizens and permanent residents held there.

Bukele, who was reelected in a landslide in 2024 on a promise to continue his campaign against organized crime, welcomed Edgar’s nomination.

“We will welcome him with open arms,” Bukele wrote on X in response to Trump’s announcement.

Edgar will replace William Duncan, a veteran diplomat who served in the U.S. Foreign Service since 1992. Duncan was confirmed by the Senate as ambassador to El Salvador in 2022 and concluded his diplomatic mission in July upon retiring from the foreign service.