Maduro has demanded the immediate release of 250 Venezuelans held in an El Salvador mega-prison built by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to house gang members. Maduro claimed in his weekly televised address on Monday that “Bukele is a serial violator of the right to freedom, fair treatment, and human dignity.”

He urged that Bukele, instead of an exchange, sign “a decree granting unconditional freedom” to the deportees.

For his part, Bukele in a post on X on Tuesday goaded Maduro, asking wasn’t the Venezuelan leader the one who said he’d do “whatever it takes” to secure the release of the Venezuelans detained in El Salvador.