Maduro Rejects Bukele’s Prisoner Swap Proposal, Demands Release of Venezuelans in El Salvador

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has formally rejected a proposal from El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to exchange hundreds of Venezuelans held in El Salvador’s Cecot prison for an equal number of political prisoners detained in Venezuela, Bloomberg reports.

Speaking on state television on Monday, Maduro stated:

“What Bukele must do immediately today is sign a decree to release the 252 Venezuelans to Venezuela.”

He also demanded that El Salvador provide his government with information regarding the legal status and physical conditions of the detained individuals.

For weeks, Venezuelan officials have stated their willingness to take “whatever it takes” to secure the release of Venezuelan nationals deported from the US to Cecot, a notorious prison known for housing gang members in El Salvador.

Bukele appeared to respond to this sentiment with a proposal posted on X on Sunday, suggesting that he would repatriate the Venezuelan migrants deported from the US in exchange for the same number of political prisoners held in Venezuelan jails.

Maduro did not address Bukele’s comments regarding political prisoners in Venezuela, even though the Salvadoran president specifically mentioned several individuals, including Rafael Tudares, son-in-law of former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez; journalist Roland Carreno; and lawyer and activist Rocio San Miguel.

The Trump administration has faced criticism for utilizing a 227-year-old wartime law to deport individuals it identifies as dangerous gang members illegally residing in the US. Since these deportations began in March, many of those sent to El Salvador have been Venezuelan.

The deportations have been challenged in US courts, and a central figure in the controversy is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who was wrongly deported. The Trump administration has argued that it is not obligated to secure Abrego Garcia’s return to the US.