CBS News is facing mounting criticism after abruptly pulling a 60 Minutes investigation into El Salvador’s controversial CECOT mega-prison, a facility where the Trump administration has deported hundreds of migrants. The last-minute decision has triggered accusations of political interference, media censorship, and corporate pressure within one of America’s most influential news organizations.

The controversy erupted after the report, scheduled to air on Sunday night, was removed just hours before broadcast, despite having passed internal editorial and legal reviews.

Pulled at the Last Minute

The investigation, titled “Inside CECOT,” focused on alleged human rights abuses at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT), a maximum-security prison promoted by President Nayib Bukele as central to his crackdown on gangs.

The story reportedly detailed claims by Venezuelan deportees that they were subjected to mistreatment and torture, and questioned how US authorities classified individuals sent to the prison.

After the report failed to air, criticism surged across US media and political circles, with journalists and lawmakers accusing CBS’s new leadership of yielding to pressure from the Trump administration.

Correspondent Says Decision Was Political

CBS News initially stated that the segment required “additional reporting” and confirmed that it would air at a later date. However, those assurances were undermined when an internal email from Sharyn Alfonsi, the 60 Minutes correspondent who reported the story, was leaked to the media.

In the email, Alfonsi said the report had been screened multiple times and approved by both CBS lawyers and its editorial standards team.

“It is factually correct,” she wrote. “Pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision — it is a political one.”

She warned that allowing government refusal to participate as grounds to cancel a report effectively gives officials a “kill switch” over investigative journalism.

Allegations of Abuse at CECOT Prison

CECOT, located roughly 75 kilometres southeast of San Salvador, is one of the largest prisons in Latin America. Since March, it has been at the centre of a major US legal dispute after the Trump administration deported migrants there despite a judge’s order requiring their return to the United States.

Several detainees later released from the facility described systematic abuse, while human rights organisations have repeatedly raised concerns about inhumane treatment and mass incarceration under El Salvador’s security policies.

The 60 Minutes report, which briefly appeared online via a Canadian streaming platform before being removed, included testimonies from former detainees and scrutiny of US deportation practices.

CBS Leadership Under Scrutiny

The decision to postpone the report has intensified scrutiny of Paramount Skydance, CBS News’s parent company, which completed its acquisition earlier this year.

The company is led by David Ellison, whose father, billionaire Larry Ellison, is a prominent donor to President Donald Trump. Critics argue that the new ownership has shifted CBS News toward a more conservative editorial stance.

In October, CBS named Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief, a move widely interpreted as part of a broader effort to appeal to conservative audiences. Weiss later told The New York Times that the network would air the CECOT report “when it’s ready,” describing the delay as a routine editorial decision.

However, Tanya Simon, executive producer of 60 Minutes, reportedly told staff she had resisted requests for changes but was ultimately overruled.

Political and Media Outcry

The backlash has been swift and bipartisan, with critics warning of erosion of press freedom.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump and his allies of attempting to shape media narratives, stating that “a free press doesn’t kowtow to the president — it holds him accountable.”

Media figures and academics echoed those concerns, with The New Republic warning that political censorship was “already happening,” and The Atlantic’s Norm Ornstein calling the episode “beyond monstrous.”

Others noted the irony that the report still leaked online internationally despite CBS’s efforts to suppress it.

Broader Implications for US Journalism

The controversy comes as Paramount Skydance is reportedly engaged in high-stakes merger talks that may require federal regulatory approval — a factor critics say could be influencing editorial decisions.

The pulled 60 Minutes report has reignited debate about corporate influence over newsroom independence, particularly at a time when investigative journalism is under increasing political and financial pressure.

As CBS faces growing demands for transparency, the incident is being viewed as a critical test of whether major US news networks can maintain editorial independence amid shifting political power and ownership structures.