Hundreds of mostly Venezuelan alleged gang members were deported from the United States to a prison in El Salvador on Sunday, with the Trump administration invoking wartime powers to speed up removals despite a court ruling halting the move.

By Ted Hesson WASHINGTON -More than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang have been deported by the U.S. and sent to El Salvador where they were taken to a high-security prison, the Salvadoran president said on Sunday.

It was not clear if the deportations happened before a D.C. federal judge ordered the administration to stop using wartime powers to deport anyone immediately, and turn around any planes in the air.