Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has suggested a prisoner exchange with Venezuela, proposing to swap Venezuelan deportees held in El Salvador for what he describes as “political prisoners” in Venezuela. Bukele addressed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro through a social media post, urging for the release of various detained individuals, including family members of opposition figures, journalists, and activists affected by last year’s electoral crackdown in Venezuela.
Bukele claims the detainees are imprisoned solely for opposing Maduro’s regime and suggests a humanitarian agreement that would involve the repatriation of all 252 Venezuelans deported to El Salvador, in exchange for an equal number of political prisoners from Venezuela. Among those Bukele seeks to release are the son-in-law of former Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo González, asylum seekers in the Argentine embassy, and numerous detained citizens from diverse countries. He also mentions the mother of opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose residence was reportedly surrounded by Venezuelan police earlier this year.
Bukele intends to direct El Salvador’s foreign ministry to communicate with Venezuela regarding the proposal. The Venezuelan prosecutor’s office responded critically, labeling Bukele’s proposal as “cynical” and denouncing him as a “neofascist.” The office demanded El Salvador provide details on the detained Venezuelans, including their legal status and medical reports, accusing both the United States and El Salvador of committing severe human rights violations.
This proposal arises amid international scrutiny of El Salvador for accepting deported Venezuelans and Salvadorans from the Trump administration, who alleged gang affiliations with minimal evidence. These deportees are currently held in El Salvador’s “mega-prison,” known as the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), established during Bukele’s aggressive campaign against gangs.
The situation has been further complicated by the mistaken deportation of a Maryland resident married to a U.S. citizen, Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Although the U.S. Supreme Court ordered his return, progress on his reinstatement appears stalled.
In response to these developments, El Salvador’s Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas has urged President Bukele to prevent the nation from becoming a massive international detention center. Despite the ongoing controversy, Bukele maintains that those detained in El Salvador are part of efforts against gangs like the Tren de Aragua operating in the United States.