Former Military Contractor Erik Prince Re-enters Trump's Circle of Influence: Exploring the Strategy of Notorious Defense Industry Figure
Rewritten Article:
In the chilly January days, Erik Prince, a long-time buddy of President Donald Trump and a notorious private security mogul, convened a gathering of executives in Washington, D.C., to explore ways their own private security companies could aid the new administration in deporting millions of undocumented immigrants.
One proposal particularly intrigued Prince: the concept of transporting migrants with criminal records for detention in another nation while they awaited transit to their home countries.
Before Trump's November victory, Prince had established a working relationship with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, which not everyone at the gathering was aware of. Trump officials also had been holding separate conversations with Bukele about accepting undocumented migrants from the U.S.
Prince eventually left the group, informing those present that he intended to propose the detention idea directly to Bukele.
The subsequent week, Bukele stood beside Senator Marco Rubio at the presidential residence in San Salvador for a significant declaration:
El Salvador would not only accept and imprison potentially hundreds of thousands of violent undocumented immigrants currently in the U.S., it would also take in "dangerous American criminals currently detained in our country, including citizens and legal residents of the United States."
The offer was as startling as it was legally questionable - with a world leader publicly discussing detaining U.S. citizens on foreign soil.
The State Department has remained largely silent on the matter since, with little information being shared about any potential uses of the deal. However, the incident, including Prince's direct line to Bukele, provides a glimpse into how a past pariah of Washington has found his way back inside Trump's inner circle.
Interviews with more than a dozen current and former administration officials and people close to Prince suggest that he has gained traction within the second Trump administration and is swiftly using his influence to pursue long-held policy beliefs, some of which could lead to lucrative business opportunities for him.
At the end of the first Trump administration, Prince was effectively expelled, barred from inside the Pentagon and CIA by officials who believed his ideas for employing mercenary forces worldwide brought unwelcome attention and pushed the boundaries of legality in his quest to secure government contracts, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The United Nations even initiated an investigation into Prince over his foreign dealings, including alleged arms trafficking violations as part of a failed mercenary operation in Libya. (Prince has denied ever being involved in operations in Libya at any time.)
With Trump back in office, the scrutiny appears to have subsided as Prince maneuvers his way back to a position of influence.
Prince has been spotted frequently at the Pentagon for the first time since his unofficial excommunication from the building in 2020, and is vying to join two key Defense advisory boards, potentially putting him in regular contact with senior Pentagon officials.
Prince also takes part in group text chats that include senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security, State Department, and the White House National Security Council, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The State Department did not respond to requests for comment.
Private contractors: A One-Size-Fits-All Solution
Prince first gained notoriety during the Iraq War when his private contracting firm Blackwater ignited international outrage after a deadly 2007 shooting that killed Iraqi civilians.
Blackwater lost a $1 billion contract with the State Department to protect American diplomatic personnel in 2009, after the Iraqi government refused to renew the company's operating license.
Even before Trump's 2024 election win, Prince was quietly suggesting controversial, yet familiar, ideas for enacting some of Trump's most challenging foreign policy directives, according to two people familiar with his thinking.
Prince's latest proposals revolve around using his network of private contractors, including former US special forces operators, as a one-size-fits-all solution for a variety of potential Trump initiatives - from deportations to conducting operations against designated terror groups abroad, to aiding in the securing of valuable mineral deposits buried beneath foreign soil.
One 26-page proposal reviewed by CNN suggests hiring retired ICE and CBP officers, as well as retired state and local law enforcement officers and properly trained veterans to arrest people to swiftly deport undocumented immigrants.
"Every crisis, he finds a way to butt in," said one person familiar with Prince's recent lobbying efforts. "He is constantly presenting plans to fix national security issues with his company."
Rumors have circulated that Prince has proposed using private military contractors to aid in operations against Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to three sources familiar with the matter. While the details of the Yemen proposal remain unclear, sources described it as an adaptation of his earlier plans for using private contractors in war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Somalia.
"He has presented the plan numerous times, but it hasn't gained traction," one of the sources said, adding that Prince has repeatedly pitched the plan to several senior National Security Council officials and others close to Trump.
Asked by CNN if he wanted to discuss his recent proposals, Prince responded: "No thanks."
Prince also appears to be getting involved in Ecuador's security crackdown. President Daniel Noboa revealed in a March 11 post on Instagram that he met with the Blackwater founder to form a "strategic alliance" against narcoterrorism and illegal fishing. A day earlier, Noboa had announced the imminent arrival of "special forces from abroad" to tackle crime in Ecuador's most violent areas, though he did not specify their origins.
The move signals a growing role for Prince's private security firm in the country's fight against organized crime. CNN has reached out to Noboa's office for more details.
Back in the U.S., some former officials cringe at the possibility of Prince being given newfound influence and promoting private security contractors as a means to achieve Trump's goal of mass deportations.
"This isn't just bad policy - it's a dangerous, un-American escalation," said Jason P. Houser, former ICE chief of staff during the Biden administration. "Mass deportation plans handed to for-profit mercenaries with a record of failure and abuse abroad will devastate our communities."
Backchannels to Allies
Prince's contact with top U.S. officials remains primarily limited to private channels, and he has not yet secured a formal meeting at the White House to discuss his immigration and Yemen plans, the source added.
The Trump White House appears to be keeping Prince at arm's length, at least for now. However, his activities have started to surface. After Politico reported on Prince's proposal to use private security contractors to arrest undocumented immigrants in February, Trump was asked specifically about it. While he told reporters he hadn't seen the proposal, he said he "wouldn't be opposed."
In a recent interview with NewsNation, Prince rejected the proposal as a "private army," saying: "It was a memo generated to describe how to achieve the logistics necessary to move the millions of people that they intend to deport."
Prince's efforts have been encouraged by a network of close Trump allies who were, in many cases, sidelined by more established Republican figures in the first term - but have become critical insiders in the opening weeks of the second.
Some current and former officials have quietly offered Prince their input on some of his recent proposals before he formally presents them to the White House, according to two sources briefed on the matter.
Among Prince's closest allies, sources said, are Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Prince served as a character witness for Gabbard, who spent weeks as one of the administration's most controversial cabinet nominees based on concerns from some Republican senators about her qualifications.
Gabbard was confirmed last month - and is now running the same intelligence agencies that tend to view Prince as "radioactive," in the words of one senior official, who cited "baggage from his time running Blackwater and conflicts of interest later."
- The idea of privatizing deportations by transporting migrants with criminal records for detention in another nation, such as El Salvador, was proposed by Erik Prince to aid the new administration.
- Prince had established a working relationship with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, which he intended to use to propose this detention idea directly to Bukele.
- The proposal of using private military contractors, including Prince's network of retired US special forces operators, to aid in operations against designated terror groups abroad or to swiftly deport undocumented immigrants, has been suggested by Prince to key Defense advisory boards and other senior officials in the second Trump administration.
