CBS airs pulled '60 Minutes' report on El Salvador's CECOT prison

A "60 Minutes" segment on El Salvador's notorious megaprison that was pulled by CBS last month finally aired on Sunday, Jan. 18, weeks after the network pulled the segment just hours before its runtime.

"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.

The "Inside CECOT" segment examined the infamous anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador, known as CECOT. Human rights groups have condemned the maximum-security facility for its dangerous conditions, and the prison has served as a symbol in President Donald Trump's controversial immigration crackdown.

The facility has been used to house some migrant detainees from the United States as part of a deal with El Salvador.

Sunday's broadcast added comments from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, details of the criminal records of those deported, and additional reporting on one with tattoos, the network said. The report featured correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi speaking with Venezuelan men who were later released, and who described conditions inside the facility as "brutal and torturous."

"Last year, the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador, a country most had no ties to, claiming they were terrorists," a description for the segment stated. "This unusual move sparked an ongoing legal battle, and ten 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 segment was shelved in December 2025 after CBS said it required additional reporting. The network also removed a link to the segment page that day and said the report would be broadcast at a later date.

An early version was mistakenly streamed on Canada's Global TV app, a CBS spokesperson previously told Reuters, and was then widely circulated online. The decision to postpone the segment sparked controversy and accusations of political interference.

In an email to colleagues obtained by multiple news outlets, including Reuters, Alfonsi said the decision to pull the segment "is not an editorial decision, it is a political one." She also reportedly said the piece was screened five times and cleared by attorneys.

The decision came as Bari Weiss implemented changes at the network after being chosen to lead CBS News in October 2025, following Paramount Skydance's acquisition of The Free Press, the online publication she founded.

A former opinion writer for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, Weiss was seen by some analysts as a contentious choice, since she had never before managed a television newsroom or produced broadcast news content.

Contributing: Melina Khan, USA TODAY; Reuters