WATCH: The 60 Minutes CECOT Segment

I was sent the CECOT segment anonymously in a group chat.

The segment apparently aired on Canada’s Global TV app and was shared by this Bluesky user jasonparis.bsky.social. You can watch the entire segment below! Please share widely!

Bari Weiss at CBS claims this segment was spiked for editorial reasons and not political reasons, however, there are portions of this video that would indicate otherwise.

First, the segment talks about the Trump administration’s utilization of the Alien Enemies Act to deport the men in the video to CECOT prison without due process. Sharyn Alfonsi mentions that the passengers on the plane thought they were being deported to Venezuela, but saw Salvadoran police waiting for them on the tarmac when they arrived. That’s the opposite of due process. In order to file for reconsideration, you have to know what’s about to happen.

Ms. Alfonsi also interviews detainees who discussed their treatment, outlining the human rights abuses at the prison. This is an important element of the story because the administration has argued they did not have custody of the prisoners once they were transferred to CECOT so they can’t be responsible for their treatment, nor could they return any of the prisoners to the US. Judge Boasberg has recently found that the US did maintain constructive custody while the deportees were there.

Additionally, 60 Minutes covers Bukele’s pride in the prison, and how he lets social media influencers tour it often. This year during a meeting with Bukele at the White House, Trump praised Bukele for how he runs the prison. Further, Ms. Alfonsi discusses the deal between the Trump administration and the Bukele, something that the government has declined to release despite State Department rules requiring it. The agreement is a point of legal contention because it could show that the US maintained constructive custody, undercutting the administration’s argument that they couldn’t return Kilmar Abrego to the US.

The segment also shows a document that US agents used to determine whether detainees were members of Tren de Aragua, but that TdA does not use tattoos to signal membership. This could also cut against the administration in legal filings regarding whether the detainees received due process.

In late March, Kristi Noem toured the prison. At some point, Noem went to another area of the prison to record a propaganda video. She claimed the men behind her were the ones deported by the trump administration, but according to this 60 Minutes segment, they were not. Pulling that would be a political decision, not an editorial one.

Bari Weiss also claims the government was not given the opportunity to add to the story, but you can see in the full segment that DHS declined a request for an interview and referred 60 Minutes to El Salvador. That’s NOT leaving out one side. DHS did weigh in, so the argument that the reason she spiked the story was editorial falls apart under that reasoning.

As far as what could have been considered “editorial,” it’s being reported that Bari Weiss disagreed with the use of the word “migrants” as opposed to “illegal aliens” in the segment. I don’t agree with that decision, but for one to understand whether her choice to kill the entire segment was based on editorial considerations, you have to watch the entire video to understand her motives.

I now it’s legally tricky to post entire segments, but you can’t really understand my analysis here without seeing it all and weighing the factors for yourself. The alternative is me watching it, telling you what’s in it, and saying “trust me, it’s not editorial,” but that’s the kind of thing that the people behind killing the story do, and I’m not going to cherry pick clips to make a point. That’s why I’m posting it here in its entirety.

In an email to her colleagues, Sharyn Alfonsi said “Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. 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.” I agree, given the multiple points made throughout the video that debunk arguments this administration has made to justify their actions this past March. Watch the video in its entirety and judge for yourself.

~AG