The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has offered to exchange Venezuelans deported from the United States for “political prisoners” in Venezuela. Bukele made this proposal in a recent address aimed at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, suggesting a “humanitarian agreement” to address Caracas’s calls for the return of Venezuelan deportees.
Bukele has pledged to repatriate 252 Venezuelans currently detained in a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, in return for an equal number of individuals held as “political prisoners” by Maduro. He argued that unlike US deportees, many of whom have criminal backgrounds, these political prisoners have not committed any offenses; they are incarcerated solely for their opposition to Maduro and alleged electoral fraud.
The Salvadoran leader named several notable figures among those held in Venezuelan prisons, including Rafael Tudares and Corina Parisca. In response, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab dismissed Bukele’s proposal as “cynical” and demanded a comprehensive list of “hostages,” proof of life, and medical reports for each.
Bukele’s government received approximately $6 million from the Trump administration to detain Venezuelan gang members in El Salvador’s maximum-security facilities. The Trump administration has deported at least 261 individuals accused of gang affiliation, drawing controversy due to the limited evidence presented regarding their criminal activity.
Maduro accused Bukele of aiding in the “kidnapping” of these individuals and demanded their repatriation. However, the US Supreme Court has imposed a temporary halt on deportations, following an emergency petition from the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the process under the Alien Enemies Act.
The Supreme Court previously ruled this month that the Trump administration’s deportations could not continue without providing migrants the opportunity to contest their removal in court.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/21/el-salvadors-bukele-suggests-prisoner-swap-for-venezuelans-deported-by-us?traffic_source=rss
