El Salvador proposes swapping US-deported Venezuelans for 'political prisoners'

22/4/2025 6:29

El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele proposed a deal on Sunday to send 252 Venezuelans deported by the United States and imprisoned in his country back to Venezuela in exchange for the release of detainees in the South American nation, a suggestion roundly rejected by the Venezuelan government.



Many lawyers and relatives of the Venezuelans detained in El Salvador claim they were not gang members and were denied due process. The U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday temporarily barred the Trump administration from deporting a similar group.



Although Bukele in his post on X called the people detained in Venezuela political prisoners, the Venezuelan government has consistently denied that it detains people for political reasons and argues, usually without providing evidence, that activists and opposition members are planning attacks against the country.



Human rights groups and lawyers have denied the charges against those mentioned by Bukele and reported that they lack private defense and are experiencing delays in their court hearings.