El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has ignited a diplomatic storm after proposing a controversial prisoner exchange with Venezuela — offering to return 252 Venezuelans deported from the U.S. and held in El Salvador in exchange for political prisoners jailed under Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
Bukele publicly called on Maduro to release a matching number of political detainees, including high-profile figures such as journalist Roland Carreno, human rights lawyer Rocio San Miguel, and Corina Parisca de Machado, mother of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. He also included nearly 50 foreign nationals — including U.S., German, and French citizens — in the proposed deal.
The move was swiftly condemned by Venezuela’s chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab, who called the proposal “cynical” and labeled Bukele a “neofascist.” Saab accused El Salvador of unlawfully detaining the Venezuelans without due process and violating international human rights. Caracas continues to deny that it holds political prisoners, insisting those jailed were convicted of crimes.
The 252 Venezuelans at the center of the proposal were deported to El Salvador from the U.S. in March under accusations of links to the Tren de Aragua criminal gang. They are being held at Cecot, El Salvador’s maximum-security prison. However, Venezuela and human rights groups dispute the gang affiliations, with families and lawyers insisting the detainees are innocent migrants.
U.S. special envoy Adam Boehler praised Bukele’s proposal, confirming that 10 Americans were among those suggested for release. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court recently paused further deportations of Venezuelan migrants accused of gang ties, responding to an emergency plea by the ACLU.
El Salvador’s foreign ministry will formally present the exchange offer to Venezuela through diplomatic channels, but the proposal has already deepened tensions over migration, human rights, and regional diplomacy.
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