Source : Perth Now news
El Salvador’s president has proposed a deal to send hundreds of Venezuelans deported from the US and imprisoned in his country to Venezuela, in exchange for taking “political prisoners” being held in Venezuela.
In a post on X on Sunday, President Nayib Bukele asked that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hand over 252 “of the thousands of the political prisoners you are holding”, under his proposed deal.
The Salvadoran leader did not say whether the prisoners would be incarcerated again upon the exchange.
Venezuela’s Ministry of Communication did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Among those Bukele proposed for release from Venezuela are journalist Roland Carreno, human rights lawyer Rocio San Miguel and Corina Parisca de Machado, mother of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
He also mentioned nearly 50 detainees of other nationalities including US, German and French citizens, as part of the proposed exchange.
In March, the administration of President Donald Trump deported at least 200 Venezuelans from the United States to El Salvador, accusing them of being members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang.
The US is paying El Salvador $US6 million ($A9.4 million) to detain the migrants.
The Venezuelan government has said it has no political prisoners and that imprisoned people have been convicted of crimes. However, non-governmental organisations claim more than 800 people are detained for political reasons.
The Venezuelan government has also denied that the Venezuelans deported by the US have gang affiliations, and lawyers and family members of the detainees have asserted that the migrants have no ties to criminal groups.
On Saturday, the US Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting another group of Venezuelan migrants accused of gang ties under a rarely used wartime law.
