Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has demanded El Salvador release hundreds of Venezuelans who were deported from the United States, who he described as being “kidnapped,” after his Salvadoran counterpart earlier proposed a prisoner swap.

Speaking on a television broadcast on Monday, Maduro demanded that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele “provide proof of life for all the kidnapped young people,” allow their families and lawyers to visit the mega-prison where they’re being kept, and to release them “unconditionally.”

He also urged Bukele to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia – the Maryland man who was mistakenly deported from the US and remains in El Salvador.

His comments come after Bukele proposed a prisoner exchange. In a post on X, the Salvadoran president offered to repatriate the 252 Venezuelans currently detained in El Salvador in exchange for “an identical number (252) of the thousands of political prisoners” he says Venezuela holds, including family members of opposition leaders.