Venezuela’s Attorney General is urging international organizations to demand the immediate release of the kidnapped Venezuelan nationals in El Salvador, following the latest statements made by president of El Salvador Nayib Bukele.
In a post published to the platform X, the Salvadoran president offered the return of 252 Venezuelans to their home country in exchange for the release of 252 individuals linked to Venezuela’s far-right opposition and other US-backed subversives.
According to the statement published by Attorney General of Venezuela Tarek William Saab, communications are being sent to both the Attorney General and Supreme Court of El Salvador, requesting information about the Venezuelans being held in El Salvador’s CECOT mega prison. Below is a translation of the statement.
STATEMENT FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA
Bukele admits that he is holding 252 Venezuelans hostage in El Salvador.
In response to the cynical statement made by President Nayib Bukele, in which he reaffirms that 252 Venezuelan citizens illegally deported from the United States are being arbitrarily detained and subjected to enforced disappearance in a concentration camp in that country, we wish to denounce the following:
1) The statement by Bukele, who makes his world debut in this way as the most faithful exponent of neo-fascism in the 21st century, demonstrates that these citizens are being held captive at the unilateral discretion of an individual outside the law who publishes and communicates to the world that he tyrannically decides whether or not a human being can enjoy life and liberty in El Salvador.
2) As we explained in a letter addressed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, the treatment Venezuelans are receiving in the United States and El Salvador constitutes a serious violation of international human rights law and constitutes crimes against humanity that mimic the repugnant Nazi practices of the mid-20th century.
3) For this reason, I am currently sending communications to the Attorney General of El Salvador and the Supreme Court of that country, questioning them about:
a) What crimes have these Venezuelan citizens committed in El Salvador?
b) When were they brought before a judge?
c) Have they had access to a lawyer?
d) Have they been allowed to communicate with anyone since their arrest?
As Venezuela’s Attorney General, I immediately request a complete list with the identification of all detainees and their judicial status, as well as the certificate of life and medical report for each of the kidnapped individuals.
The entire world should be disgusted by the fact that the “CECOT” is no longer a torture center created by Bukele’s sinister mind to punish criminals in his country, but rather a place of forced disappearance of innocent Venezuelan nationals (as agreed upon with his imperial partners), whom Bukele uses as experts in human trafficking to receive millions of dollars in exchange.
The above demands that all international organizations demand the immediate release of our compatriots currently vilely kidnapped by a tyrant and proceed to sanction this criminal act that violates the most sacred principles of international coexistence, justice, and peace.
Tarek William Saab
Attorney General of Venezuela
(Caracas, April 20, 2025)
