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El Salvador’s President Proposes Repatriation of Venezuelan Deportees in Exchange for Political Prisoners

In a notable exchange proposal, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has extended an offer to repatriate 252 Venezuelans who were deported by the United States and currently detained in his country. His condition for this repatriation is the release of an equal number of political prisoners by the Venezuelan government.

Bukele made his appeal directly to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro through a post on social media. In his statement, he pointed out that many Venezuelans sent back to El Salvador have been implicated in serious crimes, including “rape and murder,” in stark contrast to the political prisoners in Venezuela, who he claims are imprisoned solely for opposing Maduro’s regime. The legitimacy of Maduro’s re-election last year has come under heavy scrutiny, raising further questions about the integrity of his administration.

The Venezuelan government maintains that it does not hold any political prisoners, a stance that is vigorously contested by various human rights organizations.

In his post, Bukele stated: “I want to propose you [Maduro] a humanitarian agreement calling for the repatriation of 100% of the 252 Venezuelans who were deported, in exchange for the release… of the identical number from among the thousands of political prisoners that you hold.” He also mentioned an additional group of around 50 individuals of different nationalities, including U.S. citizens, as part of his proposed exchange.

As of now, the Venezuelan government has not publicly responded to Bukele’s proposal. Recently, over 200 Venezuelans were deported from the U.S. to El Salvador. The Trump administration has accused these individuals of affiliations with the Tren de Aragua gang, a criminal organization purportedly based in Venezuela.

The U.S. government provides funding to El Salvador for the detention of these deported individuals at its notorious high-security Terrorism Confinement Center. The hard-line immigration policies implemented by Trump since his inauguration in January have faced numerous legal challenges, and the situation remains contentious.

In recent judicial developments, the U.S. Supreme Court announced a temporary halt on the deportation of another group of individuals accused of being members of Venezuelan gangs, pointing to ongoing debates over the legality of mass deportations. The White House has characterized legal challenges to such deportation practices as “meritless litigation.”

Using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, President Trump has the legal authority to detain and deport citizens from countries deemed as “enemies” without adhering to standard legal procedures. Historically, this act has seen limited application, having been invoked only three times, all during periods of war.

Source
www.bbc.com