El Salvador proposes sending U.S.-deported Venezuelans to Venezuela

REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE / APRIL 14

President Donald Trump meets with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C.

SAN SALVADOR >> El Salvador President Nayib Bukele on Sunday proposed a deal to send 252 Venezuelans deported from the U.S. and imprisoned in his country to Venezuela, in exchange for taking “political prisoners” being held in Venezuela.

In a post on X, Bukele asked that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hand over 252 “of the thousands of the political prisoners you are holding,” under his proposed deal

The Salvadoran leader did not say whether the prisoners would be incarcerated again upon the exchange.

Venezuela’s Ministry of Communication did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Among those Bukele proposed for release from Venezuela are journalist Roland Carreno, human rights lawyer Rocio San Miguel and Corina Parisca de Machado, mother of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

He also mentioned nearly 50 detainees of other nationalities, including U.S., German and French citizens, as part of the proposed exchange.

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​Last month, the administration of President Donald Trump deported at least 200 Venezuelans from the United States to El Salvador, accusing them of being members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang. The U.S. is paying El Salvador $6 million to detain the migrants.

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