A CBS News segment about Venezuelan men detained in El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison after being deported by the Trump administration is drawing backlash after it was blocked from airing in the United States but appeared in Canada and circulated widely online.
CBS Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss pulled the report, titled "Inside CECOT," from running on "60 Minutes," arguing the story was not finished.
"Holding stories that aren't ready for whatever reason — that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices — happens every day in every newsroom," Weiss said in a statement. "I look forward to airing this important piece when it's ready."
But correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi reportedly took a different view, suggesting the move was driven by politics rather than editorial concerns.
"Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices," Alfonsi wrote in an internal email reported by NBC News. "It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one."
According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the episode appeared Monday on Global TV's free website and app and remained available for about two hours before being removed. The report was quickly shared by social media users and spread online.
CBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment about why the segment ran in Canada but was restricted from airing in the U.S.
A source told NBC that Weiss said she "held a '60 Minutes' story because it was not ready" during an editorial call Monday morning.
Weiss joined CBS earlier this year after Paramount Skydance acquired her publication, The Free Press. Prior to taking the helm at CBS News, Weiss was known for publicly quitting her position as a New York Times columnist after accusing the outlet of groupthink and partisanship.
NBC reported that Weiss told staffers Monday she held Alfonsi's piece while pushing for her to get the Trump administration "principals on the record and on camera."
"While the story presented powerful testimony of torture at CECOT, it did not advance the ball — The Times and other outlets have previously done similar work," she said, according to NBC's source.
Alfonsi, however, said she repeatedly sought comment from the Department of Homeland Security, which referred her team to officials at CECOT — who reportedly never responded.
Some say the piece is focused on the prisoners and their experiences instead of the administration and therefore could stand on its own without an official response.
"A free press isn't free if stories get shelved just because the powerful won't talk," Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., wrote in a social media post. "CBS pulling the CECOT story on Venezuelan deportees sent to El Salvador's brutal prison erodes trust."
"We are losing trust that government and media serve us, not the elite," the California Democrat added.
Alfonsi said the men in the segment described "torture, sexual and physical abuse inside CECOT, one of El Salvador's harshest prisons, where they say they endured four months of hell."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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