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5mo ago

Maduro Rejects Bukele’s Migrant-for-Prisoner Swap Proposal

Venezuelan families and rights groups criticize Bukele’s plan as exploitative, while Maduro demands unconditional release of detainees in El Salvador.

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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)
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TECOLUCA, EL SALVADOR - MARCH 16: In this handout photo provided by the Salvadoran government, guards escort a newly admitted inmate allegedly linked to criminal organizations at CECOT on March 16, 2025 in Tecoluca, El Salvador. Trump's administration deported 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal organizations 'Tren De Aragua' and Mara Salvatrucha with only 23 being members of the Mara. Nayib Bukele president of El Salvador announced that his government will receive the alleged members of the gang to be taken to CECOT. On February of 2023 El Salvador inaugurated Latin America's largest prison as part of President Nayib Bukele's plan to fight gangs. (Photo by Salvadoran Government via Getty Images)

Overview

  • President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador proposed exchanging 252 Venezuelan migrants detained in El Salvador for political prisoners held by Nicolás Maduro’s government in Venezuela.
  • Maduro formally rejected the proposal, calling it cynical and demanding the unconditional release of the detained Venezuelans instead.
  • Families of detained Venezuelan migrants condemned the proposal, accusing Bukele of treating their loved ones as political bargaining chips.
  • Rights organizations criticized the plan as a propaganda tactic, highlighting harsh prison conditions and the lack of due process for many detainees.
  • The deportations to El Salvador, carried out by the Trump administration under the Alien Enemies Act, have faced legal and human rights scrutiny due to insufficient evidence of criminality among those deported.