El Salvador and US are negotiating a swap prisoners with Venezuela

El Salvador repatriates dozens of detainees Venezuells in exchange for US citizens held in Venezuela, US and El Salvador governments said on Friday.

The Central American side sent approximately 250 prisoners deprived of the prison in their notorious CECOT prison (Center for Terrorism) in exchange for the release of 10 US citizens from Venezuela.

The planning load of migrants deported from the United States to El Salvador is intended to arrive at Maiquetía, Venezuela later on Friday.

The links between Salvadore Bukele leader and US President Donald Trump have warmed up significantly in recent months, especially since the bouquet has agreed to detain the US deported migrants.

A senior administration official told reporters on Friday that with the release, there are no longer any US citizens who have been held by the government of Nikola Maduro in Venezuela.

“Today, we have handed over all Venezuelan citizens detained in our country, accused of being part of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua (TDA),” Boukele said in a publication of X.

He said the exchange was carried out in return for “a significant number of Venezuelan political prisoners” as well as US citizens.

In a separate post, US Secretary of State Mark Rubio confirmed the exchange and thanked the bouquet and US officers.

Initially, the Venezuelans were deported from the United States under the Trump administration in Salvador earlier this year, under the Law on Enemies of Alien enemies of 1798, which gives power to the US president to detain and deport native nations without usual processes.

A senior employee of the Trump administration told reporters on Friday that El Salvador had made the “independent decision” to release Venezuelan prisoners – which he considers as members of the gang – for humanitarian reasons.

The exchange of Venezuelans for Americans, facilitated by El Salvador, emphasizes the strong relationships between Trump and Bouke – the self -“most native dictator in the world”.

“This deal would not have been possible without the President Bouke,” the administration official said. “We expand our deep, deep gratitude.”

Salvadoran’s leader visited Trump in the White House in April, where the couple looked friendly as they talked to reporters, often laughing and bursting together.

Bouke has supported the deportation of migrants from the United States with the maximum Salvador security prison for Salvador.

Trump said in a time that the bouquet “really helps” the United States by facilitating these detainees, as Salvadoran’s president replied that his country was “very impatient to help.”

At the same time, a bouquet for the first time proposed to exchange Venezuelan deporters for “political prisoners”, including members of the family of opposition figures of the Venezuelan opposition, journalists and activists detained in the repression of government election in 2024.

“The only reason they are imprisoned is that you opposed you and your electoral fraud,” he wrote to Maduro at X.

“However, I propose a humanitarian agreement, which includes the repatriation of 100% of the 252 Venezuelans who have been deported, in exchange for the release and transmission of an identical issue (252) of the thousands of political prisoners you own.”

The senior administration official said that although the deal was only concerned with US citizens stored in Venezuela, the Trump administration still works actively on the release of “dozens” political prisoners held by the Maduro government.