 "El Salvador President Nayib Bukele gives a thumbs up as he departs the White House following his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., U.S. File image/ Reuters")
President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador on Sunday suggested exchanging 252 Venezuelans who had been deported from the United States and imprisoned in his nation for “political prisoners” that Venezuela held.
Bukele requested that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro release 252 “of the political prisoners you are holding,” as part of his proposed agreement, in a post on X.
The Salvadoran leader did not specify if a swap would result in the inmates being imprisoned once more.
A request for comment from Venezuela’s Ministry of Communication was not answered.
Journalist Roland Carreno, human rights attorney Rocio San Miguel, and Corina Parisca de Machado—mother of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who he claimed receives threats at her house on a regular basis—were among individuals Bukele suggested be released from Venezuela.
As part of the proposed swap, he also identified roughly 50 captives of different nations, including nationals of the US, Germany, and France.
Ten Americans were among the 50 inmates suggested for the swap, according to a post on X by Adam Boehler, the US special envoy for hostage response, who applauded the action.
According to Bukele, the idea would be formally presented to the Venezuelan government via diplomatic channels by his Foreign Ministry.
Last month, the administration of President Donald Trump deported at least 200 Venezuelans from the United States to El Salvador, accusing them of being members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang. The US is paying El Salvador $6 million to detain the migrants in its high-security Terrorism Confinement Center.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe Venezuelan government has said it has no political prisoners and that imprisoned people have been convicted of crimes. However, non-governmental organizations claim that more than 800 people are detained for political reasons.
The Venezuelan government has denied that the Venezuelans deported by the US have gang affiliations. Lawyers and family members of the detainees have also asserted that the migrants have no ties to criminal groups.
On Saturday, the US Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting another group of Venezuelan migrants accused of gang ties under a rarely used wartime law, issuing a stay after the American Civil Liberties Union asked the court to intervene on an emergency basis.
The Trump administration pressed the Supreme Court to reject the ACLU’s request on the migrants’ behalf, once they review the matter further. White House officials said the president remains committed to his immigration crackdown, but gave no indication the administration would defy the court’s decision.