On Sunday, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador proposed a deal to exchange 252 Venezuelans, who were deported from the U.S. and are currently jailed in El Salvador, for “political prisoners” being held in Venezuela. In a post on X, Bukele asked Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to free 252 “of the political prisoners you are holding” as part of the proposed exchange.

El Salvador’s president didn’t clarify whether the proposed exchange would lead to the released prisoners being jailed again later. Venezuela’s Ministry of Communication didn’t respond to a request for comment. Among those El Salvador’s President Bukele suggested for release from Venezuela were journalist Roland Carreno, human rights lawyer Rocio San Miguel, and Corina Parisca de Machado, the mother of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who he said faces frequent threats at her home.

Bukele also listed about 50 detainees from various countries, including the U.S., Germany, and France, as part of the proposed exchange. According to a post on X from Adam Boehler, the U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs, ten of those prisoners are Americans. He welcomed the proposal. Bukele said the formal offer would be delivered to Venezuela’s government through his country’s Foreign Ministry.

Last month, under President Donald Trump's administration, the U.S. deported over 200 Venezuelans to El Salvador, claiming they were part of the Tren de Aragua gang. To hold these individuals, the U.S. is providing El Salvador with $6 million to house them in its high-security Terrorism Confinement Centre.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government insists it has no political prisoners, saying those jailed have been convicted of actual crimes. But human rights groups argue that over 800 people are behind bars for political reasons. Venezuela has also rejected the U.S.'s claims about the deportees being gang members. Families and lawyers of the migrants say they have no connection to any criminal organisations.

The US Supreme Court temporarily halted the Trump administration's plan to deport a group of Venezuelan migrants linked to gangs, after the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) asked the court to step in on an emergency basis, citing a wartime law. The Trump administration urged the Supreme Court to reject the ACLU's request, stating it would review the issue further. White House officials affirmed the president’s commitment to strict immigration policies but did not indicate whether the administration would defy the court's ruling.