CBS News to air previously pulled ‘60 Minutes’ report on El Salvador prison

REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON / 2018

The CBS broadcasting logo is seen outside their headquarters in Manhattan, New York.

CBS News will air on Sunday night the previously shelved “60 Minutes” report on a Salvadoran mega-prison housing migrants deported from the United States, according to new programming details released by the network. The report was postponed in December, with CBS saying the story required additional reporting. The network also removed a link to the “Inside CECOT” segment page that day and said the piece would be broadcast at a later date.

CECOT is a mega-prison in El Salvador where the U.S. has sent hundreds of mostly Venezuelan migrants without trial, and it has been condemned by human rights groups for its harsh conditions.

For Sunday’s broadcast, CBS added a description stating that “last year, the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador, a country most had no ties to, claiming they were terrorists.”

The segment features correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi speaking with Venezuelan men who were later released, and who describe conditions inside the facility as “brutal and torturous”.

“CBS News leadership has always been committed to airing the 60 MINUTES CECOT piece as soon as it was ready. Tonight, viewers get to see it, along with other important stories,” the network said in a statement on Sunday.

The segment on CECOT, which included allegations that Venezuelan deportees sent to the prison were tortured and raised questions about how the U.S. characterized them, was mistakenly streamed on Canada’s Global TV app in December, a CBS spokesperson previously told Reuters.

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The decision comes as Bari Weiss implements changes at the network after being chosen to lead CBS News in October, following Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of The Free Press, the online publication she founded.

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