Bukele proposes prisoner swap with Maduro

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has ignited controversy with a dramatic proposal to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro: exchange Venezuelans deported from the United States and detained in El Salvador for an equal number of Venezuelan political prisoners held by Maduro’s government.

Bukele’s offer, made public on social media, comes as El Salvador faces mounting criticism for accepting and incarcerating Venezuelan deportees, many of whom the U.S. and Salvadoran authorities claim are linked to gangs like Tren de Aragua. However, officials have provided limited evidence to support these claims. The detainees are being held in El Salvador’s massive high-security CECOT prison, a symbol of Bukele’s aggressive anti-gang policies.

In his message, Bukele emphasized that while the deportees are accused of serious crimes, the Venezuelan political prisoners have been jailed simply for opposing Maduro and his alleged electoral fraud. He specifically named relatives of opposition figures, journalists, and activists detained during Venezuela’s recent electoral crackdown.

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab swiftly rejected the proposal, calling it “cynical” and demanding proof of life and medical reports for the detained Venezuelans. Meanwhile, critics in El Salvador, including the country’s archbishop, have warned against turning the nation into “a large international prison”8.

As diplomatic tensions rise, Bukele has instructed his foreign ministry to open talks with Caracas, but Maduro’s government has yet to officially respond. The fate of both the deportees and Venezuela’s political prisoners now hangs in the balance.