By Peter Aitken and Adeola AdeosunShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberCBS program 60 Minutes is under fire after posting a notice that a segment on its episode set to air Sunday had been pulled - one featuring interviews with prisoners sent from the U.S. to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT.
Newsweek reached out to CBS News by email outside of normal business hours on Sunday evening for comment.
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 prompted outrage among progressive commentators, who highlighted Weiss's political views and raised concerns about potential bias and the future of the network.
President Donald Trump administration's use of the Aliens Enemies Act (AEA) to quickly deport alleged Tren de Aragua (TDA) members was challenged in court in March, with plaintiffs arguing that immigrants were being denied their right to due process – or a full court hearing – before being removed from the U.S.
The use of El Salvador's CECOT prison was denounced by human rights groups and Democrats in Congress for its reputation as a place where prisoners were 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, although accusations from critics of the plan noted that the prison appeared to accept prisoners of any nationality - even American citizens.
A teaser for the segment read: "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."
"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," the teaser added.
...Alfonsi also had spoken to some of the recently released deportees, who "describe the brutal and torturous conditions they endured inside CECOT."
In an editor's note posted on X, CBS announced that the "Inside CECOT" segment "will air in a future broadcast," prompting some to accuse the broadcaster - and specifically Weiss - of censorship.
CBS News also took down the teaser clip of the report from its website, leaving a "page cannot be found" notice instead.
What People Are Saying
Independent Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald posted the original trailer for the segment on X, saying in a caption: "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 also reposted the editor's note on X, adding a caption: "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 chimed in 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 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."
Update 12/21/25, 9:24 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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