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Bukele challenges Maduro: He proposes an exchange of Venezuelan criminals in El Salvador for political prisoners

The Salvadoran president stressed that, unlike those detained in his country, accused of violent crimes, in Venezuela, there are people imprisoned only for having opposed the dictator and his electoral frauds.

Bukele during an event in El Salvador

Bukele during an event in El SalvadorAFP / Marvin Recinos.

Virginia Martínez
Published by
Virginia Martínez

This Sunday, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, offered the dictatorial regime of Nicolás Maduro a "humanitarian agreement" to repatriate 252 Venezuelan citizens detained in a maximum security prison in his country, in exchange for the release of an equal number of political prisoners imprisoned in Venezuela. The proposal was disseminated through his official account on X.

Bukele assured that the Venezuelans in custody in El Salvador were arrested during operations against criminal structures such as Tren de Aragua, and not for political reasons. "Unlike our detainees, many of whom have murdered, others have committed rape, and some had even been arrested on multiple occasions before being deported, your political prisoners have not committed any crime. The only reason they are imprisoned is for having opposed you and your electoral frauds," the Salvadoran president wrote.

Maduro's accusations against Bukele

The proposal comes after recent statements by Maduro, who accused Bukele of keeping Venezuelan migrants "kidnapped" in subhuman conditions, without access to lawyers or religious visits. On national TV, the dictator described Salvadoran prisons as "concentration camps" and denied that the detainees have links with criminal organizations, even contradicting previous accusations by the U.S. government about their connection with terrorist networks.

Bukele's offer

Among the names Bukele proposed as part of the exchange were: journalist Roland Carreño, lawyer Rocío San Miguel - currently without medical attention due to a serious injury -, and Corina Parisca de Machado, mother of opposition leader María Corina Machado. It also mentioned Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of President-elect Edmundo Gonzalez, who was detained for more than 100 days in unknown conditions.

The Salvadoran offer also includes almost 50 foreigners imprisoned in Venezuela, of other nationalities such as American, German, Israeli, Mexican and Argentinean, among others. Bukele stated that he will send an official communication through the Foreign Ministry, concluding with a direct message: "God bless the people of Venezuela."

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