A planned 60 Minutes report about deportees sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison, which aired in Canada, was pulled from U.S. broadcast by CBS News, sparking a debate over editorial independence and free speech.
The Controversial Report
CBS News’ decision to delay the segment, titled “Inside CECOT,” came after the program was streamed by Canada’s Global Television Network. The report focuses on people deported from the U.S. to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism, or CECOT, under the Trump administration. Interviewees describe torture and physical and sexual abuse at the complex.
Firsthand Accounts
Luis Munoz Pinto, a college student in Venezuela who went to the U.S. to seek asylum, told the TV news magazine: “When we got there, the CECOT director was talking to us. The first thing he told us was that we would never see the light of day or night again.” He added, “Welcome to hell. I’ll make sure you never leave,” before noting that he has since been released. Munoz said he was awaiting a decision on his asylum claim when he was deported to CECOT this year, one of 252 Venezuelans sent there between March and April.
Political Footage
The segment also featured a clip of President Donald Trump describing El Salvador’s prisons as “great facilities, very strong facilities, and they don’t play games,” while seated next to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele during a meeting at the White House earlier this year. It also showed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s visit to CECOT in March, during which she thanked Bukele and El Salvador for their “partnership” with the U.S. to incarcerate what she called “terrorists” at the facility.
The Pull and the Protest
Neither CBS nor Global Television Network immediately responded to requests for comment late Monday and early Tuesday. The segment was anchored by correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who was critical of the decision to delay the broadcast. In a note to colleagues seen by NBC News, she accused the network of pulling the segment for “political” reasons.
Alfonsi wrote: “Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.” She said the pull was because the Trump administration refused requests for comment, a standard she said would amount to a government “kill switch” to stop publication of a story.
Weiss’s Response
Bari Weiss, the former opinion writer and editor at The New York Times who launched The Free Press in 2021, was hired as editor-in-chief of CBS News in October. Weiss said the piece was only held, which she noted is not unusual. “Holding stories that aren’t ready for whatever reason – that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices – happens every day in every newsroom. I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready,” she said in a statement.
In an editorial call Monday morning, Weiss said, “I held a 60 Minutes story because it was not ready,” according to a source. She added that while the story presented powerful testimony of torture at CECOT, it did not advance the ball – The Times and other outlets had previously done similar work.
External Criticism
Among the critics of the decision were the free-speech nonprofit PEN America and FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez, an appointee of former President Joe Biden who called it “deeply alarming.” Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation program director at PEN America, said, “Pulling it back at the last minute because the government chose not to respond is an insult not only to the integrity of the journalists but to core principles of independent news gathering.”
Context of the Deportations
President Trump ran on a platform of mass deportations, and his administration began deporting people to El Salvador and CECOT in March, citing the previously rarely used Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Among those sent to CECOT was Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported contrary to a judge’s order, and who was subsequently returned to the U.S. and ordered released from immigration custody on Dec. 11. On Monday, a federal judge allowed him to remain free while she considers immigration proceedings in Abrego Garcia’s case.
The 252 Venezuelan men referred to in the “60 Minutes” report were released from CECOT in July in exchange for the release of 10 Americans held in Venezuela.
Key Takeaways
- CBS News delayed its 60 Minutes segment on CECOT after it aired in Canada, citing lack of government comment.
- Sharyn Alfonsi accused the pull of being political, while Bari Weiss defended the hold as routine.
- Critics, including PEN America and FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez, called the decision a threat to journalistic independence.
The debate highlights the tension between editorial judgment and external pressure, as well as the ongoing controversy over the U.S. deportation policy to El Salvador and the conditions at CECOT.
