Story perspectives

CBS Ends Alfonsi Contract, Citing Deportation Reporting Retaliation

5/28/2026

Summary

Story summary

CBS let Sharyn Alfonsi’s contract expire on May 23, 2026, ending her “60 Minutes” role, and she says decision punishes her refusal to sanitize reporting on Trump administration’s deportations to an El Salvador prison.
The “Inside CECOT” segment, pulled in December and aired in January, reported torture claims by Venezuelan men deported to Center for Confinement of Terrorism in Tecoluca, El Salvador.
Alfonsi remains employed by CBS without a contract and will not resign.

History

Historical Context

After the Reagan administration’s 1989 surge in deportations that sent thousands of Salvadoran refugees home amid a civil war, the United Nations condemned the policy as breaching asylum rights. That same year the U.S.-trained Atlántatl Battalion massacred six Jesuit priests at the University of Central America, a trauma echoed today as CBS journalist Sharyn Alfonsi’s report on torture resurfaces calls for immigration and press freedom.

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Story summary

CBS let Sharyn Alfonsi’s contract expire on May 23, 2026, ending her “60 Minutes” role, and she says decision punishes her refusal to sanitize reporting on Trump administration’s deportations to an El Salvador prison.
The “Inside CECOT” segment, pulled in December and aired in January, reported torture claims by Venezuelan men deported to Center for Confinement of Terrorism in Tecoluca, El Salvador.
Alfonsi remains employed by CBS without a contract and will not resign.

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