El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has proposed a prisoner swap to Venezuela, offering to repatriate 252 Venezuelan migrants deported by the United States in exchange for political prisoners held by President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Bukele made the proposal publicly in a message posted on X, directly addressing Maduro and accusing him of jailing thousands of people for political reasons.
“I want to propose a humanitarian agreement calling for the repatriation of 100% of the 252 Venezuelans who were deported, in exchange for the release of the identical number from among the thousands of political prisoners that you hold,” Bukele said.
The Salvadoran president said those detained in his country’s maximum-security prison include members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and others from the Salvadoran MS-13. He claimed many had committed violent crimes such as rape and murder.
By contrast, he said Venezuela’s prisoners had committed no crime but were jailed for opposing the government or participating in protests.
Venezuela has denied holding political prisoners. The government has described the deportations as “kidnappings” and accused Washington of targeting innocent migrants.
Tarek William Saab, Venezuela’s attorney general, responded by requesting a full list and medical status of the detainees. He also accused El Salvador of violating their human rights by holding them in the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, known as Cecot.
Among those Bukele is seeking to free are Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of exiled opposition figure Edmundo González, and Corina Parisca de Machado, the mother of opposition leader María Corina Machado. He also named journalist Roland Carreño, lawyer Rocío San Miguel, and four political activists who have been sheltering in the Argentine Embassy in Caracas for over a year.
Those individuals are accused of terrorism and treason by the Maduro government due to alleged ties with Machado, who denies any wrongdoing on their part.
The proposed deal also includes nearly 50 foreign nationals detained in Venezuela, including US citizens, according to Bukele.
In recent months, the Trump administration has deported more than 200 Venezuelan migrants under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used law that allows deportation without regular judicial review during perceived threats from “enemy” nations.
The Supreme Court on Saturday temporarily halted further deportations under the act, pending legal challenges. The White House dismissed the objections as “meritless litigation.”
The US pays El Salvador to detain deportees in Cecot, a sprawling prison facility criticised by human rights organisations for overcrowding and indefinite detention.
Bukele, 43, has faced international criticism for suspending civil liberties and consolidating power under the guise of his anti-gang campaign. Despite this, he remains one of Latin America’s most popular leaders and was re-elected by a wide margin last year.
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