CBS 60 Minutes aired its shocking report on El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison, which included disturbing stories from Venezuelan deportees who were sent there while President Trump was in office. Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief of CBS News, pulled the segment last month. It talks about alleged torture and human rights violations at the facility.
The Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador holds hundreds of Venezuelans who were deported through a $4.7 million deal with the U.S. that was meant to target members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Detainees said they were beaten, sexually assaulted, put in stress positions for 24 hours a day, kept in dark cells with constant lights, and isolated with beatings every 30 minutes. Human Rights Watch said that almost half of them had never been in trouble with the law before, and only eight had been found guilty of violent crimes.
Weiss stopped the airing on December 21 because he wanted to interview people at the White House, even though the DHS said no and told him to ask El Salvador. Sharyn Alfonsi, a correspondent, accused Weiss of interfering in politics in an internal email after the piece had been checked for facts and legality. The longer, updated version aired on January 18 and included statements from the White House that backed up Trump’s promise to deport “dangerous criminal and terrorist illegal aliens.”
The administration used the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport people without going through the usual legal processes. This led to legal battles over names and statuses that were not made public. Critics point out that the conditions are inhumane and break UN rules for prisoners. These include poor hygiene, limited healthcare, and no recreation.
