CBS News finally aired its delayed report on El Salvador’s CECOT prison on Sunday. The 60 Minutes segment focused on the Trump administration’s decision to transfer certain deported illegals – many accused of gang ties – into the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador as part of a broader effort to dismantle violent transnational gangs like Tren de Aragua.
The Controversy
Back in December, CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss abruptly pulled the piece just hours before air, reportedly triggering a newsroom revolt and accusations of censorship. Weiss, who took over editorial leadership at the outlet last year, defended the decision at the time, saying report was not ready for air and citing alleged concerns over editorial balance and lack of an on-camera response from the Trump administration.
CBS staffers, meanwhile, considered that an odd reason to spike a 60 Minutes piece because it effectively gives a subject veto rights over a story, allowing the government to avoid a tough report by never giving an on-camera response.
In an internal memo, the correspondent who reported the piece, Sharyn Alfonsi, said “the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship.” 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelley, meanwhile, accused Weiss of spiking the segment without having attended any one of the five previous screenings of it.
As reported on Tuesday’s AM Update, the controversy came amidst Weiss herself trying to establish credibility among her new staffers. Critics have viewed her appointment from the small, politically moderate online outlet The Free Press as an attempt to signal political moderation and also as a move meant to placate President Donald Trump ahead of Skydance’s acquisition of CBS, which needed government approval.
Since taking over, Weiss has experimented with town halls, including one she hosted, which failed to spark ratings. She has also overseen the relaunch of CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil. Viewership so far seems headed in the wrong direction for that program as well.
What Actually Aired
Fast forward to this week and, after all the hullabaloo, CBS finally aired the much-debated CECOT piece. It zeroed in on two illegal immigrants deported to the El Salvadoran prison.
The big changes? A nearly three-minute anchor tag quoting snippets of Trump administration written statements, but still not featuring an on-camera comment. Alfonsi was clearly skeptical of the administration’s framing that these two migrants were Venezuelan gang members, questioning whether a Swastika tattoo on one of the men suggested gang involvement and quoting gang experts who said the symbol is irrelevant to the Tren de Aragua gang.
“In other words, the big delay and ugly internal fight was all ultimately just to add a long tag that did more attempted undermining of the administration’s arguments,” Megyn concluded. “Welcome to the new CBS. Same as the old one.”
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