The situation of several of the political prisoners mentioned by Bukele has been denounced in recent weeks. Mariana González, daughter of the president-elect Edmundo González Urrutia, called for the release of her husband Rafael Tudares, who has been missing for more than 100 days after being arbitrarily detained. In a statement, González demanded proof of life and denounced the anguish caused by his absence.
Likewise, the NGO Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón denounced that Rocío San Miguel, arrested in February 2024, suffers from a shoulder fracture for more than seven months and has not received specialized medical attention, which represents a serious violation of her human rights.
The whereabouts and conditions of the Argentine gendarmeNahuel Gallo, detained since December after entering Venezuela from Colombia, are also unknown.
El régimen de maduro mantiene detenido ilegalmente al gendarme argentino Nahuel Gallo
Bukele's proposal comes in a context of increasing international pressure against Maduro's regime, which began a third term in January 2024 amid allegations of electoral fraud.
According to the Venezuelan Penal Forum, there are currently more than 270 political prisoners in the country, including opposition leaders, activists, and citizens without party affiliation. The International Criminal Court keeps an investigation open into possible crimes against humanity committed by senior Venezuelan officials.
Meanwhile, more than 200 Venezuelans have been recently deported from the United States to El Salvador, many of them linked to the criminal organization Tren de Aragua, classified as a terrorist group by Washington.
Estados Unidos ha deportado decenas de terroristas pertenecientes a organizaciones criminales como el Tren de Aragua
The U.S. government has funded their detention in the Center for Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT), a maximum-security prison created by Bukele as part of his hardline policy against gangs.
Maduro has condemned these deportations, accusing the United States and El Salvador of committing "kidnappings" and massive human rights violations. In response, Bukele insisted that his country acts according to the law and reiterated that he will send an official communication with the exchange proposal, concluding his message with a blessing to the Venezuelan people.
Although Maduro's regime rejected the offer, Bukele's proposal has once again brought the situation of human rights in Venezuela and the fate of thousands of migrants forced to flee the country to the center of international debate.
El régimen de Maduro rechazó la propuesta
The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, proposed a bold humanitarian agreement to the Venezuelan regime led by Nicolás Maduro: repatriate the 252 Venezuelans deported by the United States and currently detained in Salvadoran territory, in exchange for the release of an equivalent number of political prisoners incarcerated in Venezuela.
The offer was made directly by Bukele through his account on the social network X, where he highlighted that the migrants detained in his country face serious criminal charges, such as homicides and rapes, and that they are not political prisoners.
"Unlike you, who have political prisoners, we don't have political prisoners," wrote Bukele, emphasizing that those detained in Venezuela are for political reasons, for opposing the regime and electoral fraud.
He mentioned emblematic cases such as that of journalist Roland Carreño, activist Rocío San Miguel, and Rafael Tudares, son-in-law of the Venezuelan president-elect Edmundo González Urrutia.
El yerno de González Urrutia fue detenido ilegalmente por el régimen de Maduro
He also included in his list citizens of other nationalities detained in Venezuela, among them Americans, Germans, Argentinians, Mexicans, Colombians, Spaniards, among others.
The reaction of the Chavista regime was immediate. The Venezuelan Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, appointed by the National Constituent Assembly in 2017, described the proposal as "cynical" and harshly attacked Bukele.
He accused the Salvadoran president of acting dictatorially and of holding Venezuelan migrants hostage, demanding proof of life, identification lists, judicial status, and medical reports of the detainees.
Furthermore, Saab flatly and hypocritically denied the existence of political prisoners in Venezuela, stating that the detainees face charges for common crimes or conspiracy.
El fiscal general de Venezuela criticó de forma hipócrita la propuesta de Bukele
This statement contradicts what has been maintained by international organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the UN Independent International Mission, which have documented systematic human rights violations in the country, including torture, forced disappearances, and arbitrary detentions.
