Topline
A “60 Minutes” segment highlighting the harsh conditions faced by migrants deported from the U.S. and sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison aired on CBS News on Sunday night, a month after it was abruptly pulled in a move that raised concerns about the network’s editorial independence and was labeled as a “political” decision by the segment’s reporter.
Last month, CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss abruptly pulled from the air a 60 Minutes story about Venezuelan migrants in the U.S., whom the Trump administration deported to CECOT, the notorious prison in El Salvador.
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Key Facts
The segment that aired on the network appeared to be largely unchanged from last month’s pulled version—which leaked online—despite CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss indicating that the story was held back due to lack of “sufficient context” and “missing critical voices.”
Early on in the segment, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi told the viewers that “60 Minutes has made several attempts to interview key Trump administration officials on camera about our story…They declined our request.”
Sunday’s airing included an additional clip of President Donald Trump referring to the Salvadoran prisons as “great facilities” where they “don’t play games.”
Other additions included a video of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying “heinous monsters, rapists, murderers, sexual assaulters, predators who have no right to be in this country” were being sent to CECOT.
The segment featured an interview with a college student from Venezuela who sought asylum in the U.S., was deported to CECOT and was allegedly 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 a 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 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 arrival 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 it was 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)
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Siladitya Ray