60 minutes CECOT story censored by Bari Weiss at the request of the Trump Administration

In December 2025, Bari Weiss, as the newly installed Editor-in-Chief overseeing CBS News following Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of her outlet, killed a completed “60 Minutes” investigative segment titled “Inside CECOT” just hours before airtime. The piece, reported by Sharyn Alfonsi, contained powerful on-camera testimony from Venezuelan men recently released from El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison, where they had been deported by the Trump administration; the detainees described enduring severe torture, beatings, sexual abuse, and prolonged inhumane confinement as part of a U.S.-El Salvador arrangement targeting alleged gang members and migrants. The last-minute cancellation, widely understood as a political favor to shield the Trump administration from damaging coverage, triggered intense internal revolt at CBS, staff threats to resign, and widespread accusations of corporate and editorial interference. The full segment later leaked online, amplifying attention through the Streisand effect.