El Salvador’s president calls on Maduro to release Venezuelan political prisoners

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has called on his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro to agree to a humanitarian prisoner exchange.

"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 handover of an identical number (252) of the thousands of political prisoners you are holding," Bukele said Sunday on X, highlighting Maduro’s repeated calls for Venezuelans to return home freely.

"Unlike you, who holds political prisoners, we do not 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 US," he added.