A short clip from a 60 Minutes investigation that was pulled shortly before broadcast has been widely shared on social media. The segment, titled Inside
CECOT, had been scheduled to air on Sunday before CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss intervened, calling for "additional reporting". The investigation focused on a high-security prison in El Salvador where Venezuelan men deported by the Donald Trump administration, and accused of gang links, were sent. The prison has also featured prominently in efforts by the US Department of Homeland Security, led by Secretary Kristi Noem, to deter illegal immigration to the United States. According to people familiar with the matter, the decision to delay the broadcast was taken less than three hours before the programme was due to air. A senior correspondent subsequently suggested that the move had been influenced by political considerations.
BREAKING: CBS just pulled its own 60 Minutes report exposing torture at El Salvador’s CECOT prison, a facility where Venezuelans were secretly sent instead of deported.
Bari Weiss now runs CBS.
Watch what they didn’t want you to see. pic.twitter.com/OfIuyjxoiR— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) December 21, 2025
Ahead of the scheduled broadcast, CBS had released a trailer for the segment on its official website and social media channels. That preview was later removed following the decision to postpone the report. However, copies of the clip continued to circulate online and quickly gained traction.
"It began as soon as the planes landed," the trailer says.
"The deportees thought they were headed from the US back to Venezuela, but instead they were shackled, paraded in front of cameras, and delivered to CECOT...where they told 60 Minutes they endured four months of hell."
One interviewee adds: "We thought we were already the living dead, honestly."
In a statement quoted by NBC News, Weiss said: "My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be."
"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. I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready," she said.
Weiss also addressed the issue during a newsroom editorial call on Monday, according to a source. She reportedly told staff that the segment did not include enough new material.
"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, referring to The New York Times.
"The public knows that Venezuelans have been subjected to horrific treatment at this prison. To run a story on this subject two months later, we need to do more. And this is 60 Minutes. We need to be able to get the principals on the record and on camera," she added, according to a transcript shared with NBC News.
Concluding her remarks, Weiss said: "Our viewers come first. Not the listing schedule or anything else. That’s my north star and I hope it’s yours, too."
