El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, has proposed repatriating 252 Venezuelans deported to El Salvador by the United States in exchange for “political prisoners” held by the Venezuelan government. Bukele, recognized for his authoritarian leadership in El Salvador, has agreed to house the deportees in a maximum-security prison known as CECOT, in return for a fee. The administration of Donald Trump has alleged that some of these Venezuelan migrants are linked to criminal organizations such as Tren de Aragua, labeled a “terrorist organization” by Washington.
Nonetheless, some of these migrants have neither been convicted of crimes nor charged with any. They were deported to El Salvador despite a court injunction preventing such action. The Trump administration acknowledged in court that one migrant was deported in error due to an administrative oversight, while others reportedly agreed to return to their homeland, as conveyed by family members to the Financial Times.
Bukele recently suggested on the social media platform X that these individuals could be returned to Venezuela, contingent upon a “humanitarian agreement” involving the exchange of political prisoners from the regime of President Nicolás Maduro. However, Bukele did not outline the future plans for the prisoners expected to arrive from Venezuela. As of now, the Venezuelan government has not responded to inquiries for comments.
Bukele maintains a robust relationship with the Trump administration, receiving accolades from its officials for his strict approach towards crime. However, the deportations—publicized by both Washington and Bukele on social media through images and videos of the deportees—have elicited condemnation from human rights organizations and Democratic politicians.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen from Maryland recently visited El Salvador and met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a deportee whose return was acknowledged as erroneous by the Trump administration. Although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the White House should facilitate Garcia’s return, Bukele has refused to assist in the repatriation.
Should Maduro agree to Bukele’s deal, it might alleviate some political strain on the Trump administration, which has faced criticism for allegedly impeding due process for immigration detainees. Last week, the Supreme Court temporarily hindered the White House from further deportations under an uncommon 18th-century statute.
Maduro, who took office in Venezuela in 2013 after the death of socialist revolutionary Hugo Chávez, has been curbing dissent since a contested election in July. Venezuelan rights group Foro Penal reports 903 political prisoners are currently detained in the country, comprising protestors and opposition leaders.
Bukele identified some of these political prisoners, including the son-in-law of Edmundo González, a former diplomat considered by many, including Washington, as the rightful winner of a past election against Maduro. Also mentioned were journalist Roland Carreño and the mother of opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose residence has repeatedly faced government surveillance.
Alongside political challenges, Maduro leads a nation suffering economic turmoil, with approximately 7.7 million Venezuelans—nearly a quarter of the population—having fled the country due to the dire economic conditions. Initially engaged in dialogues with Maduro, Trump shifted to a “maximum pressure” strategy in his first term, imposing sanctions on Venezuela’s critical oil industry and revoking Biden-era waivers granted to global energy firms, including Chevron, Repsol, and Eni. Additionally, Washington recently instituted 25 percent “secondary tariffs” on nations purchasing Venezuelan crude, aiming to cut off financial resources to Maduro’s government.
