Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Jan 19: A controversial “60 Minutes” segment examining El Salvador’s notorious anti-terrorism megaprison, CECOT, which was abruptly pulled by CBS last month, finally aired on Sunday, January 18, weeks after it was withdrawn just hours before its scheduled broadcast.
In a statement, CBS News said its leadership had always been committed to airing the report once it was fully ready. “Tonight, viewers get to see it, along with other important stories,” the network said.
The segment, titled Inside CECOT, takes an in-depth look at El Salvador’s maximum-security prison, which has drawn sharp criticism from human rights organisations for its harsh and dangerous conditions. The facility has also become a symbol of former US President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration crackdown, as part of an agreement under which some migrant detainees from the United States were housed there.
The version aired on Sunday included additional reporting, comments from the US Department of Homeland Security, details of the criminal records of deportees, and further information about one detainee identified by tattoos. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi interviewed Venezuelan men who were later released from the prison and described conditions inside CECOT as “brutal and torturous.”
According to the programme’s description, the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador last year, alleging they were terrorists, despite many having no prior ties to the country. The move sparked an ongoing legal battle, and even ten months later, the US government has not disclosed the full list of those deported and incarcerated at CECOT, one of El Salvador’s harshest prisons.
CBS had shelved the segment in December 2025, stating that additional reporting was required. On the same day, the network removed the report’s webpage link and said it would be aired at a later date. An early version of the segment was mistakenly streamed on Canada’s Global TV app and subsequently circulated widely online, a CBS spokesperson earlier told Reuters.
The postponement triggered backlash and accusations of political interference. In an internal email to colleagues, obtained by multiple media outlets including Reuters, Alfonsi reportedly said the decision to pull the segment was “not an editorial decision, it is a political one,” adding that the piece had been screened multiple times and cleared by legal teams.
The controversy unfolded amid leadership changes at CBS News following the appointment of Bari Weiss as its head in October 2025, after Paramount Skydance acquired The Free Press, the online publication she founded. Weiss, a former opinion writer for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, drew mixed reactions, with some analysts questioning her lack of experience in running a television newsroom or producing broadcast news.