El Salvador’s president proposes swapping US-deported Venezuelans with Maduro’s ‘political prisoners’

Summary

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has proposed sending 252 Venezuelans deported from the US and imprisoned in his country to Venezuela, in exchange for “political prisoners” held by Venezuela. On Sunday, Bukele asked that the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, hand over 252 “of the political prisoners you are holding” under his proposed deal. Venezuela’s chief prosecutor, Tarek William Saab, said Bukele’s proposal was cynical and accused El Salvador of unlawfully detaining 252 Venezuelans. The US is paying El Salvador $6m to detain them in its high-security terrorism confinement centre, known as Cecot. The Venezuelan government has said it has no political prisoners and that imprisoned people have been convicted of crimes.

Additional Summaries

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has proposed exchanging 252 Venezuelans deported from the U.S., including journalists and legal experts, for political prisoners held in Venezuela under a controversial deal criticized by Venezuelan authorities as a clear violation of international law. Maduro agreed to hand over the prisoners but did not confirm if they would be detained again, while Venezuelan prosecutors called Bukele a neofascist and accused El Salvador of systematically detaining Venezuelans in both the U.S. and their country without charges. Meanwhile, U.S. Special Envoy Adam Boehler praised the move, noting 10 Americans were among those offered release as part of the exchange.

In a contentious move, El Salvador’s president proposes swapping 252 Venezuelans, deported from the US, for Venezuelan political prisoners, drawing sharp criticism from Venezuela's prosecutor who labels him a "neofascist." While the US envoy praises the plan for potentially freeing 10 Americans, legal battles over deportations to El Salvador persist as some Venezuelans deny gang ties.