El Salvador’s President Bukele has proposed a prisoner swap with Venezuela, exchanging 252 Venezuelan deportees for an equal number of political prisoners detained in Venezuela. This plan arises amid international scrutiny of El Salvador’s handling of deported individuals, including an American citizen, and raises concerns about human rights issues.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has proposed a prisoner exchange with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In a social media statement, Bukele suggested trading Venezuelan deportees held in El Salvador for political prisoners in Venezuela, numbering 252 each. Bukele emphasized that the detained individuals in Venezuela are political prisoners, having opposed Maduro’s regime.
Among those he mentioned for exchange were family members of prominent opposition figures, journalists, and activists imprisoned during Venezuela’s recent electoral clampdown. Bukele referenced specific individuals, including the son-in-law of a former presidential candidate and the mother of opposition leader María Corina Machado, emphasizing the political nature of their detentions.
Bukele plans to engage El Salvador’s foreign ministry for negotiations with the Maduro administration, although there has been no immediate response from Venezuela. This proposal arises amid controversy over El Salvador’s treatment of deported individuals labeled as gang members by the Trump administration. Many are currently held in a large facility known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, built to address gang violence.
Notably, the inclusion of an American citizen, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, in these deportations has led to legal disputes. El Salvador’s Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas has recently urged Bukele not to turn the country into an international prison. Despite ongoing scrutiny, Bukele insists that those detained in El Salvador are tied to gang operations, particularly in connection with the Tren de Aragua from the United States.
President Bukele’s proposal for a prisoner swap with Maduro highlights his government’s position on political detainees and raises concerns about the treatment of deportees in El Salvador. As Bukele seeks to negotiate the release of Venezuelan political prisoners, the international community continues to scrutinize the country’s practices regarding deportees and alleged gang members. This development underscores the complex political dynamics between the two nations and the implications for human rights advocacy.
Original Source: www.haltonhillstoday.ca
