El Salvador President Nayib Bukele Proposes Prisoner Swap with Venezuela

SAN SALVADOR – El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has proposed a humanitarian agreement with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, offering to repatriate 252 Venezuelan detainees in exchange for the release of an equal number of political prisoners held in Venezuela.

The proposed prisoner swap was outlined by Bukele in a post on X addressed to Maduro:

(Translated from Spanish to English)

“Mr. @NicolasMaduro, you have said on numerous occasions that you want the Venezuelans back and free.

Unlike you, who have political prisoners, we don’t have political prisoners. All the Venezuelans we have in custody were detained as part of an operation against gangs like the Tren de Aragua in the United States.

Unlike our detainees, many of whom have committed murder, others have committed rape, and some have even been arrested multiple times before being deported, your political prisoners have committed no crime. The only reason they are imprisoned is because they opposed you and your electoral fraud.

However, I want to propose a humanitarian agreement that includes the repatriation of 100% of the 252 Venezuelans who were deported, in exchange for the release and delivery of an identical number (252) of the thousands of political prisoners that you hold.

Among them are Rafael Tudares, Edmundo González’s son-in-law; journalist Roland Carreño; lawyer and activist Rocío San Miguel; Mrs. Corina Parisca de Machado, mother of María Corina Machado, who is subjected to daily intimidation and has her access to basic services such as electricity and water sabotaged; as well as the four political leaders seeking asylum in the Argentine embassy and other Venezuelan political prisoners. Also included are the nearly 50 detained citizens of other nationalities: American, German, Dominican, Argentine, Bolivian, Israeli, Chilean, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Spanish, French, Guyanese, Dutch, Iranian, Italian, Lebanese, Mexican, Peruvian, Puerto Rican, Ukrainian, Uruguayan, Portuguese, and Czech.

Our Foreign Ministry will send formal correspondence.

God bless the people of Venezuela.”