Topline
A “60 Minutes” segment highlighting the harsh conditions faced by migrants deported from the U.S. and sent to El Salvador’s infamous CECOT prison aired Sunday night on CBS News, a month after it was abruptly withdrawn in a move that raised concerns about the network’s editorial independence and was labeled a “political” decision by the segment’s reporter.
Last month, CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss abruptly took off the air a 60 Minutes story about Venezuelan migrants in the US, who were deported by the Trump administration to CECOT, the infamous prison in El Salvador.
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Key facts
The segment that broadcast on the network appeared largely unchanged from last month’s deleted version — which leaked online — despite CBS News’ editor-in-chief indicates that the story was held back due to a lack of “sufficient context” and “missing critical voices.”
Early in the segment, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi told viewers that “60 Minutes has made several attempts to interview key Trump Administration officials on camera about our story… They have denied our request.”
Sunday’s broadcast included an additional segment in which President Donald Trump referred to El Salvador’s prisons as “great facilities” where they “don’t play games.”
Other additions included a video of press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying that “horrific monsters, rapists, murderers, molesters, predators who have no right to be in this country” were sent to CECOT.
The segment featured an interview with a student from Venezuela who sought asylum in the US and was deported to CECOT, and he recounted being beaten by the guards until he bled and having one of his teeth broken, which aired unchanged from the previously leaked version.
After highlighting conditions within CECOT, Alfonsi said the Department of Homeland Security denied their request for an interview and “referred all questions regarding CECOT to El Salvador,” whose government did not respond.
What else did the Trump administration say in 60 minutes?
Later in the segment, Alfonsi said that “60 Minutes” sought the full details and criminal backgrounds of all 252 deported Venezuelan men sent to prison, but was told by DHS that they “have confidence in the intelligence of our law enforcement and that we will not share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies being one. That would be insane.”
Why didn’t the segment include interviews with Trump officials?
After the segment was controversially removed last month, the New York Times reported that Weiss wanted the “60 Minutes” segment to include an interview with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and every other top Trump administration official on the matter. Sunday’s broadcast included no such on-camera interviews. CNN’s Brian Stelter reported that Weiss asked Alfonsi to interview “a Trump official, like Kristi Noem or Tom Homan,” and said she would personally book the interview. But even though “60 Minutes” producers flew from New York to Washington, D.C., and Alfonsi flew from Texas, the interviews never took place. In a statement shared with Stelter, CBS News said it has “always been committed to airing the 60 MINUTES CECOT piece as soon as it was ready.”
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