The ’60 Minutes’ segment, which was controversially removed by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, finally aired.

Weiss, who was selected to lead CBS News late last year, made a last-minute decision to host the “Inside CECOT” segment in December.

The story, which aired shortly after 7 p.m. ET Sunday, examines the conditions inside a maximum security prison in El Salvador, known as CECOT, which has faced serious and repeated allegations of human rights abuses.

Exclusive interviews with two Venezuelan men describe the torturous conditions they endured after Donald Trump’s administration jailed them early last year.

In March of last year, more than 200 Venezuelan men were jailed – the largest in Latin America – under the president’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, despite federal court orders that blocked flights and ordered their return. By July, most of those detainees were released to their home countries as part of a US-Venezuelan prisoner swap after spending months in lock-up.

The newly aired segment still lacks specific details.

This section has an updated introduction, in which correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi writes that the Trump administration launched a military operation in Venezuela in early January, leading to the capture of ousted leader Nicolás Maduro. Administration officials reportedly declined to comment on the story, leaving the newly aired segment devoid of concrete comments about the alleged abuses.

“Since November, 60 Minutes has made multiple attempts to interview key Trump administration officials on camera about our story,” Alfonsi said. They declined our requests.”

The story is just 17 minutes long, nearly three minutes longer than the version leaked online in December.

According to Alfonsi, administration officials sidestepped questions about the abuse allegations by saying that the detainees were no longer under US jurisdiction. But a federal judge determined that the United States maintained constructive custody after removing them under the Alien Enemies Act.

Last month, Washington, D.C., District Judge James Boasberg ruled that Venezuelans deported to CECOT deserve the right to a hearing — whether to extradite them to the United States or allow them to pursue their case abroad.

But last week, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, It argued that in the wake of the deadly operation to capture Maduro and the volatile political environment that followed, any effort to repatriate him or allow him to participate in a virtual hearing in his home country “would risk material damage to US foreign policy interests in Venezuela”.

During the segment, one of the former detainees recalled his arrival at CECOT, when he was warmly welcomed by the prison director. “The first thing he told us was that we would never see the light of day or night again. He said, ‘Welcome to hell. I will make sure you never leave here,'” the man said. She said torture was part of daily life and that she was sexually assaulted by guards.

Another man said he was kept in a dark cell, where guards came every 30 minutes to beat him. “When we were there, they attacked us with sticks at the door to injure us,” he said.

Weiss, who was selected to lead CBS News late last year, made a last-minute decision to host the “Inside CECOT” segment in December.

Self-described “radical centrist” and founder of online news site The Free Press He defended his decision in a memo to CBS News staff on Christmas Eve, writing that he was on a mission to “win back” the trust of the American people.

“[S]Sometimes this means vetting a piece on an important topic to ensure it is comprehensive and fair,” he wrote.

Weiss said that “in our inverted moment”, the purported commitment to fairness “may seem radical” and “will certainly seem controversial to people who are used to doing things one way”, but that “any kind of outcry – whether from activist organisations or from the White House” should not deter them.

But by withholding the piece, which was fact-checked and run by a team of lawyers, Weiss drew sharp criticism from network staff, with some accusing her of trying to curry favour with the Trump administration.

“Burning trash is holy crap,” said one employee. Independent. A Another reporter said that Weiss had possibly “crossed the Rubicon” when he intervened and pushed the story forward.

“The 60 Minutes team will probably revolt over this,” one network insider told the Independent. “Especially during football season.”

The 13-minute segment leaked online in late December, prompting reactions on social media and some calling it an example of the Streisand effect – in which a controversy draws more attention than no action being taken.

However, the reaction within the administration was very different.

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller expressed his anger at CBS News employees who protested Weiss’ decision, telling Fox News: “Every single one of those producers 60 minutes Those engaged in this rebellion – clean the house and set them on fire, that’s what I say.

The Salvadoran prison began intense scrutiny last year, when the Trump administration paid President Nayib Bukele $5 million to detain deportable Venezuelan migrants accused of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang.

In March, when the US began flying Venezuelans to CECOT, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited the facility and at one point posed in front of the prisoners to record a video.

“I want to thank El Salvador and their president for their partnership with the United States to bring our terrorists here,” Noem said in the video.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant living in Maryland, was among the dozens of Venezuelans sent to CECOT in March. Government lawyers acknowledged he was wrongly deported, but his case sparked a fierce legal battle at the centre of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.

Abrego García was eventually returned to the United States last summer to face federal criminal indictments accusing him of smuggling undocumented immigrants across the country, charges that were brought after he was removed. He has pleaded not guilty.

Garcia’s lawyers have said he suffered “severe ill-treatment” and “torture” while in custody. He said in July that the 29-year-old suffered “severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition and psychological torture” at CECOT.

Several other Venezuelan men detained in the prison have previously spoken out about the painful ordeal they went through.

Niervar Adrian Leon Rangel, 27, sued the Trump administration in July and sought $1.3 million in damages, alleging he was wrongfully detained and suffered injuries.