Bukele's Bold Offer: Prisoner Swap with Maduro Sends Global Shockwaves
So here’s what’s happening—El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has just made a jaw-dropping move that’s got everyone talking. In a public post on X (formerly Twitter), he directly offered Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro a prisoner swap that’s both bold and politically loaded. Bukele is proposing to send back 252 Venezuelans currently detained in El Salvador—individuals deported from the United States and allegedly tied to criminal organizations—in exchange for 252 political prisoners currently held by the Venezuelan government.
Now, let’s be clear: this isn’t your standard diplomatic trade. Bukele isn’t just making a humanitarian gesture here—he’s throwing down a challenge. In his words, while the Venezuelans in Salvadoran custody have serious criminal backgrounds—charges like murder, rape, and repeat offenses—the ones he wants back are, in his view, innocent. They’re behind bars in Venezuela simply because they dared to speak out against the government. He’s called out names too, including Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of exiled opposition leader Edmundo González, and Corina Parisca de Machado, the mother of the prominent opposition figure María Corina Machado.
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What’s more, Bukele’s proposal goes even further. He’s pushing for the release of four political figures currently seeking refuge in the Argentine Embassy in Caracas—people accused of terrorism and treason, but who claim they’ve done nothing wrong. And he’s not stopping there. The deal includes well-known individuals like journalist Roland Carreño, human rights lawyer Rocío San Miguel, and dozens of citizens from countries like the U.S., Germany, and France.
Maduro’s government, for its part, hasn’t taken the bait—at least not yet. Venezuela's top prosecutor has instead demanded the identities and medical status of all Venezuelans detained in El Salvador and accused Bukele of violating their human rights.
And all of this is playing out against a backdrop of serious international tension. The U.S. recently deported hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador under claims they’re part of gangs like Tren de Aragua, even paying Bukele’s administration millions to keep them locked up. But evidence for those ties remains thin, and human rights advocates are sounding alarms about how these detainees are being treated.
Bukele, ever the showman, has styled himself as a hardline reformer—“the world’s coolest dictator,” as he puts it. He’s suspended civil liberties to crush gangs at home and is now stepping into the global arena, blending diplomacy with defiance. Whether this offer is a genuine humanitarian gesture or a calculated political play, one thing’s certain: he’s made sure the world is paying attention.
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