Migrants deported to El Salvador’s CECOT prison sent to Venezuela in prison swap, Bukele says

The deal included the release of 10 Americans held in Venezuela.

By Laura Romero

July 18, 2025, 2:14 PM

The more than 200 Venezuelan migrants who were deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador's mega-prison in March have left El Salvador to be sent to Venezuela as part of a prisoner swap that included Americans, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced on X.

The deal included the release of 10 Americans held in Venezuela, according to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the Americans had been released from Venezuela and were now "on their way to freedom."

In the post on X, Bukele said: "Today, we have handed over all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country, accused of being part of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua. As was offered to the Venezuelan regime back in April, we carried out this exchange in return for a considerable number of Venezuelan political prisoners, people that regime had kept in its prisons for years, as well as all the American citizens it was holding as hostages."

It is not clear if the deportees have landed in Venezuela. Bukele's post on X includes a video of what appears to be the deportees boarding a plane.

The migrants were sent to the prison, known as CECOT, as part of a $6 million deal the Trump administration made with Bukele to house migrant detainees as part of Trump's immigration crackdown.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.