CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss delayed a planned 60 Minutes segment ahead of its Sunday broadcast, determining the piece required additional reporting and broader context, according to the network.
The segment focused on the Trump administration’s decision to deport hundreds of illegal aliens with alleged ties to violent criminal gangs to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison. The facility is operated by El Salvador’s government under President Nayib Bukele and is used to detain gang members and drug traffickers as part of the country’s aggressive anti-crime strategy.
According to the report, the segment included interviews with two illegal aliens who had been transferred to CECOT and later released. The individuals alleged they experienced “brutal and torturous conditions” while incarcerated.
CBS said the segment was postponed after Weiss concluded it “needed additional reporting.” In a statement, Weiss said it is common practice to delay stories that “lack sufficient context” or are “missing critical voices,” adding that the piece is expected to air once those concerns are addressed.
“My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be,” Weiss said. “I look forward to airing this piece when it’s ready.”
Reporter Sharyn Alfonsi, who spearheaded the segment, publicly criticized the decision, calling it “political” and arguing that the report had already undergone internal fact-checking and legal review.
Here’s the full 60 Minutes segment on CECOT that Bari Weiss and CBS censored.#BoycottCBS pic.twitter.com/lrZF4I7rOD
— @Ima 🇺🇸💙🔬🔭 (@imatweet25) December 23, 2025
“It is factually correct,” Alfonsi wrote. “In my view, pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”
Weiss’s decision comes as Democrats and legacy media outlets have increasingly focused criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement on the use of CECOT, despite the prison’s primary function as a detention center for violent gang members.
Earlier this year, Bukele agreed to accept illegal aliens deported by the United States and house them at CECOT, expanding cooperation with the Trump administration as deportations increased nationwide.
The move also follows broader scrutiny of CBS News’ coverage of President Donald Trump. “60 Minutes” faced criticism last year over its editing of an interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris, which Trump later cited in a lawsuit against CBS parent company Paramount.
Paramount ultimately settled the lawsuit for $16 million amid leadership changes, including billionaire David Ellison assuming control of the company and Weiss taking the helm of CBS News.
