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El Salvador Proposes Prisoner Swap with Venezuela for US-Deported Migrants

President Nayib Bukele offers to exchange 252 Venezuelans detained in El Salvador for an equal number of political prisoners held by Nicolás Maduro's government.

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele waves as he departs following a meeting at the White House with President Donald Trump, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 14, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
SupporterS of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro set fire to a rag doll with pictures of (L-R) El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez, US President Donald Trump, opposition leader Juan Guaida, and Guyana's President Irfaan Ali, during the traditional Judas burning within the Holy Week celebrations in Caracas on April 20, 2025. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP) (Photo by JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images)

Overview

  • President Bukele announced a proposal to repatriate 252 Venezuelans deported from the US and held in El Salvador in exchange for 252 political prisoners detained in Venezuela.
  • The US Supreme Court recently halted further deportations of Venezuelan migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, pending legal review.
  • Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab criticized the proposal as cynical, demanding detailed information on the detainees' identities, legal status, and conditions.
  • El Salvador has faced backlash from rights groups and religious leaders for housing deportees in its controversial CECOT mega-prison, where conditions have been described as inhumane.
  • The Trump administration has paid El Salvador millions to detain deported migrants, while critics question the evidence linking many detainees to gang affiliations.