Nayib Bukele responded sharply to Hillary Clinton after she promoted a PBS Frontline segment alleging abusive conditions at El Salvador's CECOT prison, which holds many deported migrants. Bukele offered to transfer El Salvador's entire prison population — including gang leaders and those labeled 'political prisoners' — to any country willing to accept them, on the condition that the transfer include every inmate. He argued such a move would make it easier for journalists and NGOs to gather testimony, while reiterating his government's priority to protect Salvadorans from gang rule. Meanwhile, a U.S. federal judge ordered the administration to provide due process to a class of Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador.
Bukele Challenges Hillary Clinton — Offers to Transfer El Salvador’s Entire Prison Population After CECOT Criticism
Bukele challenges Hillary Clinton to take El Salvador's entire prison population after criticism
El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, fired back at former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she posted an 11-minute PBS Frontline segment alleging harsh conditions at the country's maximum-security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), which holds many alleged gang members and migrants deported from the United States.
Clinton shared the Frontline short film 'Surviving CECOT' on X, writing that viewers could 'hear Juan, Andry, and Wilmer share firsthand how the Trump administration branded them as gang members without evidence and deported them to the brutal El Salvadoran prison.' The documentary profiles three Venezuelan men — Juan José Ramos Ramos, Andry Blanco Bonilla and Wilmer Vega Sandia — who say they were wrongly labeled as members of the Tren de Aragua gang and deported to CECOT.
President Donald Trump and El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele.
Curious to learn more about CECOT? Hear Juan, Andry, and Wilmer share firsthand how the Trump administration branded them as gang members without evidence and deported them to the brutal El Salvadoran prison.
In response, Bukele challenged Clinton and other critics while saying El Salvador would cooperate if credible claims of torture or abuse at CECOT emerged. He went further, offering an extraordinary proposal:
We are willing to release our entire prison population (including all gang leaders and all those described as 'political prisoners') to any country willing to receive them. The only condition is straightforward: it must be everyone.
Bukele said such a transfer would make it easier for journalists and non-governmental organizations to interview former detainees, potentially enlarging the pool of voices critical of the Salvadoran government or corroborating claims of systemic abuse. He argued that if allegations reflected a wider reality, a larger sample of sources should only strengthen those claims — and many governments would presumably be willing to offer protection.
Hillary Clinton criticized the conditions at El Salvador's CECOT prison, prompting a response from the country's President, Nayib Bukele.
At the same time, Bukele reiterated that, until any receiving country comes forward, his administration will continue prioritizing the safety and rights of the millions of Salvadorans who live free from gang rule.
Background: Bukele previously deepened cooperation with former President Donald Trump by offering to house certain migrants deported from the U.S. at CECOT. U.S. authorities have deported Venezuelan migrants they deemed to be gang members to El Salvador after Venezuelan authorities declined to take them back.
Separately, a federal judge recently ordered the U.S. administration to provide due process for a class of Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador in March and gave officials two weeks to explain how they will do so — a development that sets up another legal clash between the White House and federal courts. A related ruling ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from ICE custody.
