Bukele Proposes Prisoner Swap with Venezuela Amid Deportation Controversy

El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele has proposed a controversial humanitarian agreement with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro: a swap of 252 Venezuelan migrants recently deported from the United States in exchange for the release of an equal number of political prisoners held in Venezuela, Bloomberg reports.

Bukele announced the proposal via a post on X, stating his desire for “a humanitarian agreement that includes the repatriation of 100% of the 252 Venezuelans who were deported, in exchange for the release and delivery of an identical number (252) of the thousands of political prisoners that you hold.”

The move comes amid mounting pressure on both Bukele and US President Donald Trump regarding deportation policies. Bukele, who has previously supported Trump’s efforts to increase deportations, has faced criticism for accepting deported migrants, particularly those the US labels as gang members.

The list of prisoners Bukele is seeking to have released includes Rafael Tudares, son-in-law of former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez; journalist Roland Carreno; lawyer and activist Rocio San Miguel; and several foreign nationals from the US, Germany, Dominican Republic, Argentina, and Colombia.

The situation has escalated after the deportation of Venezuelans from the US to El Salvador, where they are reportedly held in harsh conditions. Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez has vowed to do “whatever it takes” to free the deported citizens, who he claims are being held in a notorious Salvadoran prison. Maduro himself has repeatedly condemned Bukele’s treatment of the deported Venezuelans, calling their detention in Salvadoran jails a form of “kidnapping.” Maduro’s legal team has even filed an appeal with El Salvador’s high court on behalf of the families of the detainees.

The proposed swap also surfaces amid controversy surrounding the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadorian national deported from the US and held in El Salvador’s maximum-security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). US courts have demanded Abrego’s return, but the Trump administration has appealed the calls.

El Salvador currently holds the highest per capita incarceration rate in the world, more than triple that of the US. This dramatic increase in the prison population, while coinciding with a decrease in the country’s homicide rate, is largely attributed to Bukele’s state of emergency initiative implemented to detain tens of thousands of suspected gang members. The initiative, which began in 2019, remains a signature policy of his presidency.