CBS News aired a long-delayed "60 Minutes" investigative report on Sunday night about El Salvador's notorious mega-prison, known as CECOT (Terrorism Confinement Center), where human rights groups have long condemned the extremely harsh and abusive conditions.
The segment, titled "Inside CECOT," features correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi and includes firsthand accounts from two Venezuelan men who were deported from the United States and imprisoned there.
They describe enduring beatings, torture, sexual and physical abuse, and months in what they called "hell," often based on suspicions tied to tattoos or alleged gang affiliations. The report highlights how, under the Trump administration last year, the U.S. deported hundreds of Venezuelans—specifically 252 in one major transfer—to this facility in a $4.7 million deal with El Salvador's government, despite most having no ties to the country. The deportees were labeled as threats, including alleged members of gangs like Tren de Aragua or MS-13, though the piece raises questions about the evidence and due process.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized CECOT—a massive maximum-security prison built in 2022 as part of President Nayib Bukele's anti-gang crackdown—for overcrowding, lack of access to lawyers or family, and reports of systematic mistreatment, making it a flashpoint in debates over U.S. immigration policy and international deportations.
The broadcast came weeks after CBS abruptly pulled the segment just hours before its original scheduled air date of December 21, 2025. At the time, the network cited the need for "additional reporting," removed promotional links, and promised a later airing. The decision sparked significant controversy, including internal backlash: Alfonsi reportedly called it a "political" rather than editorial choice in an email to colleagues, and it fueled accusations of interference amid the sensitive topic involving the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
(A version of the segment had inadvertently streamed online via a Canadian broadcaster, allowing some early viewing.)
For Sunday's airing, CBS incorporated updates, including statements from the Department of Homeland Security defending the deportations as removing dangerous individuals no longer posing threats to Americans, as well as additional context on the deportees' criminal records and the administration's rationale. The White House and DHS had been contacted for comment prior to broadcast.
The episode underscores ongoing tensions in U.S. deportation practices, the role of foreign prisons in handling migrants, and broader concerns about human rights in facilities like CECOT.