WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump suggested Friday that people who vandalize Tesla property – the car brand owned by his billionaire ally Elon Musk – could be deported to prisons in El Salvador.
“I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!” he added, referencing the Central American nation known for its harsh treatment of criminals.
Trump’s remarks mark a further consolidation of his administration’s support for key adviser Musk, who has divided Americans as an unelected tycoon who has led a ruthless cost-cutting drive at the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Several Tesla dealerships around the country have been vandalized in recent weeks and the company’s stock price has plummeted over the past month.
Attorney General Pam Bondi this week branded vandalism against property owned by Tesla as “domestic terrorism” in a public show of support for Musk.
On Thursday she announced that unspecified charges were being brought against three people accused of targeting Tesla cars, carrying between five and 20 years in prison.
The three defendants, who were not identified, “will face the full force of the law” for using Molotov cocktails to set fire to Tesla vehicles and charging stations in Oregon, Colorado and South Carolina, the Justice Department said.
Trump, in an unprecedented product endorsement by a sitting president, sought to boost Tesla sales earlier this month, briefly turning the White House into a showroom and announcing he was buying one of the electric cars.
His suggestion of jailing Tesla vandals in El Salvador is particularly pointed after US officials last weekend flew more than 200 alleged gang members to be jailed in the country.
The move caused uproar as it apparently defied a US court order halting the flights – though the Trump administration insists it was legal.
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Trump suggests Tesla vandals be jailed in El Salvador
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Trump suggests Tesla vandals be jailed in El Salvador
- ‘I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla’
- ‘Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!’
Germany to take in more than 500 stranded Afghans from Pakistan
BERLIN: The German government said Thursday it would take in 535 Afghans who had been promised refuge in Germany but have been stuck in limbo in Pakistan.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told the RND media network Berlin wanted to complete the processing of the cases “in December, as far as possible” to allow them to enter Germany.
The Afghans were accepted under a refugee scheme set up by the previous German government, but have been stuck in Pakistan since conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May and froze the program.
Those on the scheme either worked with German armed forces in Afghanistan during the war against the Taliban, or were judged to be at particular risk from the Taliban after its return to power in 2021 — for example, rights activists and journalists, as well as their families.
Pakistan had set a deadline for the end of the year for the Afghans’ cases to be settled, after which they would be deported back to their homeland.
Dobrindt said that “we are in touch with the Pakistani authorities about this,” adding: “It could be that there are a few cases which we will have to work on in the new year.”
Last week, the interior ministry said it had informed 650 people on the program they would not be admitted, as the new government deemed it was no longer in Germany’s “interest.”
The government has offered those still in Pakistan money to give up their claim of settling in Germany, but as of mid-November, only 62 people had taken up the offer.
Earlier this month, more than 250 organizations in Germany, including Amnesty International, Save the Children and Human Rights Watch, said there were around 1,800 Afghans from the program in limbo in Pakistan, and urged the government to let them in.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told the RND media network Berlin wanted to complete the processing of the cases “in December, as far as possible” to allow them to enter Germany.
The Afghans were accepted under a refugee scheme set up by the previous German government, but have been stuck in Pakistan since conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May and froze the program.
Those on the scheme either worked with German armed forces in Afghanistan during the war against the Taliban, or were judged to be at particular risk from the Taliban after its return to power in 2021 — for example, rights activists and journalists, as well as their families.
Pakistan had set a deadline for the end of the year for the Afghans’ cases to be settled, after which they would be deported back to their homeland.
Dobrindt said that “we are in touch with the Pakistani authorities about this,” adding: “It could be that there are a few cases which we will have to work on in the new year.”
Last week, the interior ministry said it had informed 650 people on the program they would not be admitted, as the new government deemed it was no longer in Germany’s “interest.”
The government has offered those still in Pakistan money to give up their claim of settling in Germany, but as of mid-November, only 62 people had taken up the offer.
Earlier this month, more than 250 organizations in Germany, including Amnesty International, Save the Children and Human Rights Watch, said there were around 1,800 Afghans from the program in limbo in Pakistan, and urged the government to let them in.
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