60 Minutes to Air Inside CECOT Report After Bari Weiss Delay

"Weiss originally postponed the segment because she believed, at present, we do not present the administration's argument for why it sent 252 Venezuelans to CECOT. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who reported on the story, was furious slamming the move as a political decision and arguing that Weiss's reasoning was flawed. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story, Alfonsi wrote, in an internal memo of her own."

"If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a kill switch' for any reporting they find inconvenient. But Stelter reports that while Alfonsi was certainly reluctant to make changes to the original report, she flew from Texas to DC on Thursday to interview a Trump administration official. But the interview did not materialize, according to Stelter."

"Still, the segment will air Sunday night. Its viewership, however, is almost guaranteed to be minuscule compared to most 60 Minutes broadcasts given that it is up against an NFL divisional round playoff game between the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Rams. Last year's game in the same slot, which featured the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills, was the third highest-rated TV broadcast in America in 2025, drawing more than 43 million total viewers."

60 Minutes postponed a segment originally scheduled for Dec. 21 that examines the deportation of 252 Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador’s high-security CECOT prison. Bari Weiss postponed the segment because she believed the administration’s argument for the deportations was not presented. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi criticized the decision as political and wrote that refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story. Alfonsi flew from Texas to DC to seek an interview with a Trump administration official, but that interview did not materialize. The segment will air four weeks late on Sunday night opposite an NFL playoff game, reducing its expected audience.

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