CBS’ 60 Minutes is facing criticism after posting a notice that a segment scheduled to air Sunday had been pulled — one featuring interviews with prisoners transferred from the U.S. to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT.
Why It Matters
Paramount Skydance, the owner of CBS News, struck a deal to appoint Bari Weiss, the founder of the Free Press, as editor in chief of CBS News in October, shortly after Skydance completed its takeover of Paramount and its subsidiaries.
The appointment sparked outrage among progressive commentators, who pointed to Weiss’s political views and warned about potential bias — and what the change could mean for the network’s editorial direction.
The Trump administration’s use of the Aliens Enemies Act (AEA) to rapidly deport alleged Tren de Aragua (TDA) members was challenged in court in March, with plaintiffs arguing that immigrants were being denied due process — meaning a full court hearing — before being removed from the U.S.
Human rights groups and Democrats in Congress have denounced the use of El Salvador’s CECOT prison, citing its reputation as a place where prisoners are tortured and never released.
What To Know
The segment was generated through reporting by correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi and produced by Oriana Zill de Granados, according to Mediaite.
El Salvador’s President Nayyib Bukele agreed earlier this year to accept prisoners from the U.S., specifically deportees suspected of ties to the Tren de Aragua gang. Critics of the plan, however, argued the prison appeared to accept prisoners of any nationality — including, they claimed, American citizens.
A teaser for the segment stated: “Earlier this year, the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, a country most had no ties to, claiming they were terrorists.”
The teaser added: “This move sparked an ongoing legal battle, and nine months later the U.S. government still has not released the names of all those deported and placed in CECOT, one of El Salvador’s harshest prisons.”
Alfonsi also spoke with some recently released deportees, who described what they said were brutal and torturous conditions inside CECOT.
In an editor’s note posted on X, CBS said the “Inside CECOT” segment “will air in a future broadcast,” prompting some critics to accuse the broadcaster — and Weiss in particular — of censorship.
CBS News also removed the teaser clip from its website, replacing it with a “page cannot be found” notice.
What People Are Saying
Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald posted the original trailer for the segment on X, writing: “It’s almost impressive how much damage Bari Weiss has done to CBS News in such a short period of time. Someone quickly schedule a prime-time Town Hall with Alan Dershowitz to rectify the harm.”
Progressive commentator Krystal Ball reposted the editor’s note on X and added: “Bari’s CBS pulled their CECOT report which included interviews with immigrants who were tortured in this concentration camp. The Trump regime does not want you to know what was done to these people.”
Podcast host Kyle Kulinski wrote on BlueSky: “Bari Weiss just CENSORED AND BANNED a 60 Minutes episode exposing how Trump sent immigrants to be TORTURED AND RAPED in a concentration camp.”
Democratic political commentator Marco Foster wrote on X: “This is the now deleted teaser for the 60 Minutes report that was supposed to air tonight on the CECOT torture prison in El Salvador that Donald Trump sent hundreds of migrants to. CBS is officially a mouthpiece for the Trump administration thanks to Bari Weiss.”
New York Times DC reporter Glenn Thrush wrote on X: “Has this ever happened before?”
Political analyst Tom Sherwood wrote on X: “The public needs to know why. The 60 Minutes’ segments are not thrown together at the last moment. Where is the CBS statement saying why?”
Singer-songwriter and political commentator Bill Madden wrote on X: “SHAME, SHAME, SHAME! Under the fascist authoritarian Trump regime, America has devolved into a banana republic. So fearful is the media of the pedophile führer, CBS News cut an upcoming 60 Minutes report at the last minute on Trump’s CECOT concentration camp in El Salvador.”
What Happens Next
A CBS News spokesperson told Newsweek: “The 60 Minutes report on ‘Inside CECOT’ will air in a future broadcast. We determined it needed additional reporting.”
