Nearly a month after CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss ignited controversy by shelving a 60 Minutes segment about Venezuelan prisoners, the piece finally aired on Sunday night. The segment, reported by Sharyn Alfonsi, was originally scheduled for 21 December but was pulled by Weiss, who told staffers it needed more reporting.
Weiss had instructed 60 Minutes to hold the segment about the Cecot prison in El Salvador, in part because it lacked 'the administration’s argument'. Alfonsi described Weiss’ decision as 'political' in a leaked email to colleagues, noting that the Trump administration had declined to make officials available for interview.
The tweaked version that aired on Sunday included a few minutes of new material but still did not have an on-camera comment from an administration official. Alfonsi told viewers that 60 Minutes had made several attempts to interview key Trump administration officials, who declined. She also noted that the Department of Homeland Security refused to provide records of the 252 Venezuelan men sent to Cecot.
The original segment had been inadvertently aired by a network in Canada, allowing comparison. The new version updated Alfonsi’s opening comments to note the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on 3 January, but included much of the same material, including interviews with Luis Muñoz Pinto and Human Rights Watch’s Juan Pappier. A statement from the White House issued on 18 December was also included, though it was absent from the original.
CBS News reaffirmed its commitment to airing the piece, stating it had 'always been committed to airing the 60 Minutes Cecot piece as soon as it was ready'. The episode aired without the network formally confirming the lineup until early Sunday evening, and likely lost some viewers to NBC’s NFL playoff game.
