El Salvador and Venezuela detainees’ relatives criticize Bukele’s prisoner exchange proposal | El Salvador

The families of prisoners held by the authoritarian governments of El Salvador and Venezuela have expressed their outrage at President Nayib Bukele’s proposal to exchange 252 Venezuelan detainees held in his jails for the same number of political prisoners incarcerated by Nicolás Maduro’s regime. Nelson Suárez, whose brother was wrongfully sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, expressed desperation for his release and criticized the political usage of his brother as a bargaining chip. Sebastián García Casique, whose brother Francisco was also imprisoned in El Salvador, condemned the suggested trade as well. Relatives of an estimated 900 political prisoners in Venezuela also questioned the offer, voicing their concerns about the exploitation of the pain of victims for propaganda purposes. The Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners in Venezuela called for the freedom of both political prisoners in Venezuela and innocent immigrants in El Salvador, but rejected the proposed deal as a misuse of pain for political gain. Bukele’s offer was met with rejection by Maduro’s administration, labeling it a “cynical” attempt by El Salvador’s president, who was accused of human trafficking. Scores of Venezuelan immigrants have been deported to El Salvador since mid-March, falsely accused of being terrorists and gang members without substantial evidence. The families of these deportees maintain their innocence and condemn their harsh treatment and potential use as part of a political exchange. Adelys Ferro, a Florida-based Venezuelan American activist, strongly criticized Bukele’s plan, urging for freedom for both Venezuela’s political prisoners and innocent immigrants, but also denouncing any negotiation involving Venezuelan lives with authoritarian regimes.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/23/el-salvador-bukele-venezuela-prisoners