Topline
On Sunday night, CBS News aired a “60 Minutes” report that shed light on the dire conditions experienced by migrants deported from the U.S. to El Salvador’s infamous CECOT prison. This broadcast came a month after the segment was unexpectedly pulled, sparking debates over the network’s editorial autonomy. The segment’s journalist described the decision as politically motivated.
The version that aired appeared remarkably similar to the one previously withheld, which had surfaced online. This is despite CBS News’ editor-in-chief initially stating that the delay was due to a lack of “sufficient context” and “missing critical voices.”
In the segment, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi informed viewers that “60 Minutes” had made multiple attempts to secure on-camera interviews with key officials from the Trump administration concerning the story, but their requests were declined.
The broadcast included a new clip of former President Donald Trump praising the Salvadoran prisons as “great facilities” where they “don’t play games.”
Additional footage featured Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt labeling those being sent to CECOT as “heinous monsters, rapists, murderers, sexual assaulters, predators who have no right to be in this country.”
Unchanged from the leaked version was an interview with a Venezuelan college student. Having sought asylum in the U.S., he was deported to CECOT, where he suffered beatings from the guards.
The segment featured an interview with a college student from Venezuela who sought asylum in the U.S., was deported to CECOT and was beaten by guards there, which was unchanged from the previously leaked version.
After highlighting the harsh conditions inside CECOT, Alfonsi said the Department of Homeland Security declined their request for an interview and “referred all questions about CECOT to El Salvador,” whose government did not respond.
What Else Did The Trump Administration Tell 60 Minutes?
Later in the segment, Alfonsi said “60 Minutes” sought complete records and criminal backgrounds of all 252 deported Venezuelan men who were sent to the prison, but were told by the DHS that they are “confident in our law enforcement’s intelligence and we are not going to share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies he is one. That would be insane.”
Why Did The Segment Not Feature Any Interviews With Trump Officials?
After the segment was controversially pulled last month, the New York Times reported Weiss wanted the “60 Minutes” segment to include an interview with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and any other top Trump administration official on the matter. Sunday’s airing included no such interviews on camera. CNN’s Brian Stelter reported that Weiss asked Alfonsi to interview “a Trump official, such as Kristi Noem or Tom Homan,” and said she would personally book the interview. However, even though “60 Minutes” producers flew to Washington, D.C. from New York, and Alfonsi flew in 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.”
What Did The Segment Show?
The segment showed Venezuelan men deported from the U.S. arriving in El Salvador, before they were shackled, paraded before cameras and taken into CECOT. Luis Munoz Pinto, the Venezuelan college student interviewed by “60 minutes” said the first thing he was told by a guard upon was that “we would never see the light of day or night again. He said, ‘Welcome to hell. I’ll make sure you never leave.’” He later described the treatment he faced, saying: “Four guards grabbed me, and they beat me until I bled, to the point of agony. They knocked our faces against the wall, that was when they broke one of my teeth.” On the prison’s condition, Pinto said: “There was blood everywhere, screams, people crying, people who couldn’t take it and were urinating and vomiting on themselves.”
Key Background
Late last month, the “Inside CECOT” segment was promoted on CBS for several days but was abruptly pulled from that week’s “60 Minutes” broadcast. 60 Minutes’ official social handles put out an Editor’s Note saying: “The broadcast lineup for tonight’s edition of 60 Minutes has been updated. Our report ‘Inside CECOT’ will air in a future broadcast.” The decision, however, triggered pushback within the network with Alfonsi telling colleagues in an internal email that Weiss had “spiked our story” despite it being “screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices” and “factually correct.” In the email she said, “In my view, pulling it now—after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.” Several Democratic lawmakers called out CBS News’ leadership, alleging that they were bowing to pressure from the White House. A day later the unaired segment leaked in its entirety after being mistakenly uploaded online on Canadian broadcaster Global News’ app, even though it aired the amended version of the episode in its televised broadcast.
Further Reading
‘60 Minutes’ Segment Leaks Online After It Was ‘Spiked’ By CBS News Chief (Forbes)
