CBS News draws internal backlash after shelving ‘60 Minutes’ segment

CBS News abruptly pulled a "60 Minutes" segment scheduled to air Sunday about Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, triggering sharp internal criticism and accusations of political motivation.

The segment, titled "Inside CECOT," was to feature correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi interviewing released deportees describing conditions at the Centro de Detención Contra el Terrorismo prison. CBS had promoted the story to the public on Friday afternoon before announcing the pullback just three hours before the Sunday broadcast—an unusually last-minute decision.

CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, who took the role in October, requested numerous changes to the report on Saturday morning. The network said in a statement that the segment would air at a future date and "needed more work of reporting."

Alfonsi rejected that explanation. In a private memo sent Sunday to CBS colleagues, the veteran correspondent accused the network of withdrawing the segment for "political" reasons. She wrote that "the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship."

According to Alfonsi and two CBS sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, the story had been fully fact-checked and legally vetted before the network publicized it Friday. The sources told CNN that Weiss raised questions about the piece Saturday morning, leading to the decision to hold it.

On Monday, Weiss addressed the backlash during a network-wide editorial call. According to a recording reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, she said she held the segment because "it wasn't ready" and "we simply need to do more." She noted that the subject of Venezuelan treatment at the prison had already been reported by outlets including the New York Times, and that running the story required additional reporting to meet the program's standards.

The pullback has generated internal discord at CBS News. Some employees told CNN they were threatening to quit over the decision. Alfonsi expressed concern that the program was being "dismantled."

The CECOT prison in El Salvador is described as notorious for maximum-security conditions. The segment was to document accounts from deportees who described what the program characterized as brutal and torturous conditions at the facility.

The timing of the decision (three hours before broadcast after public promotion) drew particular criticism from staff members and observers who noted the rarity of such last-minute pulls for established news organizations.