01/18/2026: Minneapolis, Inside CECOT, Salties

Summary

60 Minutes – January 19, 2026: Minneapolis, Inside CECOT, Salties

Episode Overview

This episode of 60 Minutes delves into three major stories:

1. The unprecedented crackdown on immigrants in Minneapolis and its community impact.
2. Inside look at El Salvador’s notorious maximum-security prison CECOT, where deported Venezuelans claim widespread abuse after U.S. deportations.
3. Australia's surging population of saltwater crocodiles ("Salties"), the clash between humans and apex predators, and the cultural debate over their conservation and risk.

---

1. Minneapolis: Immigration Enforcement Crisis

Main Theme:
Exploring the fallout from the largest-ever federal immigration operation in an American city, focusing on tensions between ICE agents, Minneapolis officials, and the community after the police shooting of Renee Goode.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Massive Federal Presence and Community Tension

  • 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol Agents deployed in Minneapolis (nearly 5x the local police force).
  • Chief Brian O'Hara tasked with rebuilding trust post-George Floyd.
  • Protests erupt following the shooting of Renee Goode by ICE.

• Chief O’Hara’s Warnings (05:18)

  • “We're in this 2020 moment where all these tensions have been building, and I'm afraid we're gonna have another moment where it all explodes.” (Chief O’Hara, 05:18)

• Conflicting Narratives Around Shootings and Enforcement

  • The fatal shooting of Renee Goode is polarizing: Some see a senseless killing, others see defense (08:01).
  • Vice President J.D. Vance places blame on Goode.
  • Federal prosecutors resigned after being instructed to investigate Goode rather than the ICE officer.

• Transparency and Accountability Issues

  • State investigations into ICE actions blocked.
  • Chief O’Hara expresses frustration: “Tragedy was imminent.” (07:44)
  • ICE chief Marcos Charles insists operations are “lawful and with professionalism” (11:09), but admits to no internal discipline for controversial incidents.

• Treatment of Citizens and Perceptions of Targeting

  • American citizens, notably people of color, are routinely stopped and questioned.
  • Sharon Alfonsi interviews a US citizen stopped for “appearing” foreign (15:24).
  • O’Hara notes: “We’re not getting these stories from Irish folks and Norwegian folks...” (15:31).

• Statistical Rise in Violence Against Agents and Residents

  • ICE reports attacks against officers soared to 275 nationally.
  • Community experiences tear gas, pepper spray, and unclear use of force.

• Calls for De-escalation

  • O’Hara: “It requires the president to say we're still gonna go after the worst of the worst, but we're not gonna be treating American citizens in ways that risk destroying a beautiful American city.” (17:19)

Notable Quotes

• “How dare you let this happen here? You should be ashamed.” (Local resident to Chief O’Hara, 07:21)
• “If those cops worked for me, they'd have a problem right now.” (O’Hara, after watching footage of a disabled citizen’s arrest, 13:35)
• “People have a right to say disrespectful things. As a professional, I have an obligation not to take that personally and not to retaliate.” (Marcos Charles, ICE, 10:27)
• “There's a perception out there that immigration agents...are acting with impunity.” (Lesley Stahl, 12:00)

Timestamps

• 05:18 — Chief O’Hara expresses concern about tension escalation
• 08:01 — The shooting’s polarizing interpretations
• 13:15 — Disabled American citizen’s troubling arrest
• 15:24 — US citizens stopped for “appearing” foreign
• 17:19 — Chief O’Hara’s plea for federal de-escalation

---

2. Inside CECOT: The U.S. Deportation Controversy

Main Theme:
A detailed investigation into the US program deporting Venezuelan migrants—many with no criminal history—to El Salvador’s maximum-security CECOT prison, documenting horrific allegations of abuse and the international fallout.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Mass Deportation and Secrecy

  • Hundreds of Venezuelans deported under the Alien Enemies Act, labeled as terrorists, sent to CECOT in El Salvador (18:31).
  • 60 Minutes interviews two Venezuelan deportees; their accounts paint a harrowing picture of systematic torture, abuse, and denial of due process.

• Conditions at CECOT

  • Prisoners describe being shackled, beaten, sexually assaulted, denied food and clean water, and kept in isolation (“the island” with no light or ventilation).
  • Lights kept on 24/7, extreme temperatures as punishment—confirmed by open-source investigators and an unguarded interview with the prison warden (31:22).

• US Involvement and Human Rights Violations

  • Human Rights Watch’s Juan Papier: nearly half deported had no criminal record; ICE's own data shows only 3% were violent offenders (24:53).
  • DHS refused to disclose full records, citing national security.
  • A federal judge recently ruled the US maintained “constructive custody” over the deportees and had to provide due process (34:30).

• Political and Legal Fallout

  • President Trump praised El Salvador’s prison system.
  • DHS: “We are confident in our law enforcement's intelligence...not going to share intelligence reports...” (34:19).

Notable Quotes

• “When we got there, the CECOT director...told us we would never see the light of day or night again. He said, welcome to hell. I'll make sure you never leave.” (Deportee, 20:40)
• “They beat me until I bled to the point of agony. They knocked our faces against the wall. That was when they broke one of my teeth.” (Deportee, 22:16)
• “Of the 252 men, that data shows...eight of them [were convicted] for violent or potentially violent crimes.” (Sharon Alfonsi, 34:06)
• “If you can bring together that with the physical evidence, I think you have the strongest possible case for accountability, whether it's the court of public opinion or at some point in a court of law.” (Alexa Koenig, Berkeley Investigations Lab, 32:06)

Timestamps

• 18:31 — Overview of CECOT deportations
• 20:40 — Deportee: “Welcome to hell...”
• 22:16 — Details of beatings and torture
• 24:53 — Data on the men’s criminal history
• 31:22 — Warden confirms 24/7 lights as punishment
• 34:06 — Breakdown of criminal charges

---

3. Salties: Coexistence with Australia’s Crocodiles

Main Theme:
A colorful, nuanced report on Australia’s saltwater crocodiles (“salties”)—their resurgence, role in the ecosystem, dangers to humans, and the cultural divide between eradication and respect.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Crocodile Conservation and Human Conflict

  • Saltwater crocs can exceed 20 ft in length and weigh over a ton.
  • Hunting ban in the 1970s saved them from extinction; their numbers soared (~150,000 now), fueling conflict with humans.

• Croc Ranger Tom Nichols’ Stories

  • “If it didn’t spin, I would have been alright. But trouble is he spinning. He spun all my hand around.” (Lost half his hand in a croc 'death roll,' 38:54)
  • “Now, this size crocodile...he would drown you quite easily. He'd take you down and under underwater...” (38:28)

• Diverging Australian Views

  • Bob Katter (MP): Fierce advocate for repealing the croc hunting ban; frames law as valuing reptiles over people (43:21).
  • Indigenous guides revere crocs as a totem, hunt selectively; others see them as income via tourism.

• Coexistence and Respect

  • Trevor Sullivan, Indigenous croc keeper: “They're not just pet, they're family.” (41:20)
  • “Crocodiles are way misunderstood. They've survived the times of the dinosaurs... Humans are far more scary.” (Nichols, 40:04)

• Fatalities and Public Education

  • ~50 deaths in 50 years despite the dramatic croc population recovery.
  • Most fatalities involve ignoring clear safety advice.

Notable Quotes

• “They're family.” (Trevor Sullivan, croc keeper, 41:27)
• “A law that puts the value of crocodile over a human being, that is the definition of evil.” (Bob Katter, MP, 43:21)
• “It's the best fun being able to coexist with saltwater crocodiles. The most dangerous predator on earth...your croc attacks are almost non existent.” (Trevor Sullivan, 45:38)

Timestamps

• 38:28 — Ranger Nichols on the danger of croc attacks
• 41:27 — “They're family.” - Sullivan
• 43:21 — Bob Katter on hunting ban
• 45:38 — Indigenous views on coexistence

---

Memorable Moments

• Chief O’Hara’s Vulnerability:
  Clearly shaken by video footage: “If those cops worked for me, they'd have a problem right now.” (13:35)
• Firsthand Accounts of Prison Torture:
  “The torture was never ending...They would take you there and beat you for hours...” (Deportee, 27:44)
• Australian Ranger’s Gallows Humor:
  “Yeah, pick my nose with my left.” (After losing fingers to a croc, 39:03)
• Indigenous Spiritual Connection:
  “It's like a crocodile in us. We’ve been together for a very long time.” (44:48)

---

Conclusion

This episode paints a vivid, unsettling portrait of three different but urgent frontlines: the domestic struggles over federal immigration enforcement and civil liberties, the dark reality of offshoring deportations to secretive prisons with little oversight, and the timeless struggle between humans and nature in Australia’s wild north. The reporting is balanced, featuring diverse, impassioned voices, and nuanced in its approach to controversial issues.

---

For Listeners

Key topics examined:

• Civil rights and policing in Minneapolis
• International human rights and U.S. deportation policy
• Environmental conservation vs. human conflict in Australia

For a full transcript and more info, visit the official 60 Minutes website.

Transcript

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Cart for an exclusive free gift with $65 purchase. One week after an ice agent shot Renee Good, this was the scene in Minneapolis. It is exactly what Police Chief Brian o' Hara feared.

[Anderson Cooper]

I'm afraid we're gonna have another moment where it all explodes.

[Lesley Stahl]

Are you bothered by seeing American citizens getting detained in these operations?

[Anderson Cooper]

I'm bothered by seeing people take action against my officers. Get out.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

It began as soon as the planes landed. The deportees thought they were headed from the US Back to Venezuela. But instead they were shackled, paraded in front of cameras and delivered to Seekot, the notorious maximum security prison in El Salvador, where they told 60 Minutes they endured four months of hell. Did you think you were going to die there?

[Anderson Cooper]

We thought we were already the living dead, honestly.

[Holly Williams]

In the tropical city of Darwin, the sunsets on the beach are spectacular. Darwin's surrounded by crocodile habitat and salties are known for being territorial. A quick dip in the sea would be over in a flash if you ran into this creature. So it's just luck.

[Anderson Cooper]

Yeah, luck.

[Holly Williams]

You could go for a swim here.

[Anderson Cooper]

I wouldn't go for a swim. No.

[Lesley Stahl]

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[Anderson Cooper]

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[Sharon Alfonsi]

I'm Sharon Alfonsi.

[Anderson Cooper]

I'm John Wertheim.

[Lesley Stahl]

I'm Cecilia Vega.

[Anderson Cooper]

I'm Scott Pelley. Those stories tonight on 60 Minutes.

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[Lesley Stahl]

By now you have no doubt seen many of the scenes from Minneapolis. Immigration agents demanding proof of citizenship, even from some American citizens. Protesters swarming as agents make arrests. The fatal shooting of Renee Goode by an ICE officer this past week. We went to Minneapolis and spoke with two men at the center of the crisis. The chief of police and the head of ICE's deportation operation. Both veteran law enforcement officers, with two very different views of what is unfolding tonight. There are 3,000 ice and border Patrol agents in the Minneapolis area. That's nearly five times the number of police on the city's force, making it the largest ever deployment of federal immigration officers to an American city. One week after an ICE officer shot Renee Goode, this was the scene on the streets of Minneapolis. Federal immigration agents facing off against angry protesters. It is exactly what Minneapolis Police Chief Brian o' Hara feared. He's been tasked with rebuilding trust between the community and police in the wake of George Floyd's murder nearly six years ago.

[Anderson Cooper]

We're in this 2020 moment where all these tensions have been building, and I'm afraid we're gonna have another moment where it all explodes.

[Lesley Stahl]

Late Wednesday night. We witness the anger ourselves.

[Anderson Cooper]

It's not a good place to be. Brad. Get the out of here. Leave. Leave. Go home.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

Leave.

[Lesley Stahl]

We are just hours after meeting with the police chief here in Minneapolis, where he told that tensions were so high he was worried that violence would take place, something else would happen in this community. You can hear flashbangs behind me. We are now just a few blocks away from where federal immigration agents have been involved in another shooting here in Minneapolis. ICE says one of its officers shot a Venezuelan man in the leg after he and two other migrants attacked the officer with the snow shovel and broom handle. ICE says the three men are in the country illegally. The Trump administration says the goal is to crack down on illegal immigration and weed out fraud. They call it Operation Metro Surge. Elected officials in Minneapolis call it an occupation. Administration officials Are adamant that this action that they are undertaking in Minneapolis right now is making this city safer.

[Anderson Cooper]

Targeted, precise, pre planned operations on violent offenders. That is a good thing. But I'm concerned that people in the administration don't actually understand the reality of what's happening on the street.

[Lesley Stahl]

Chief O' Hara told us the city's 911 system is overwhelmed by complaints about immigration enforcement. What are you seeing?

[Anderson Cooper]

Seeing multiple calls of people who have been subjected to tear gas, pepper spray.

[Lesley Stahl]

We need more water.

[Anderson Cooper]

At least one case, a person was removed from a vehicle and the car wasn't even placed in park and it was rolling down the roadway.

[Lesley Stahl]

In an ideal world, it is a city on edge. And as we walked with the chief, we heard it from a man in a passing car. How dare you let this happen here? You should be ashamed.

[Anderson Cooper]

You should be sick pig.

[Lesley Stahl]

What do you want someone like that who just yelled at you and said, you let this happen to know?

[Anderson Cooper]

Well, I have been very publicly saying this has been a risk for several weeks, trying to get anyone in a position of authority to understand that tragedy. Tragedy was imminent.

[Lesley Stahl]

The fatal shooting of Renee Goode by ICE officer Jonathan Ross has become a kind of Rorschach test. Some see a senseless killing. Others see an officer defending his life.

[Anderson Cooper]

I've seen the videos, and it's not clear to me why he appears to be in the path of the vehicle more than once. When you approach someone in a vehicle in a law enforcement encounter, there's very basic steps you take to ensure the officer's safety and to de escalate the situation.

[Lesley Stahl]

But the day after the shooting, Vice President J.D. vance put the blame squarely on Renee.

[Anderson Cooper]

Goode, that it's a tragedy of her own making.

[Lesley Stahl]

Homeland Security officials have accused Good and her wife of, quote, stalking immigration agents and impeding their work.

[Anderson Cooper]

I said, go get yourself some lunch, big boy. Go ahead.

[Lesley Stahl]

Top federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned in part, sources told CBS News, because they were told to investigate the actions of Renee Good and her wife rather than Officer Ross.

[Anderson Cooper]

Shame.

[Lesley Stahl]

State investigators were blocked from the investigation altogether. Can Americans trust what's coming out about the status of this investigation right now?

[Anderson Cooper]

The rhetoric that's coming out from a lot of our politicians is to not trust us, which is very odd to me when a lot of Americans would rather believe what they see on TikTok compared to a government agency.

[Lesley Stahl]

We spoke to ICE's Marcos Charles, who oversees arrests and deportations nationwide, including Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis. Could you see why some Americans might think that what's Happening on the streets of some of these cities leads them to see isis. Feeling emboldened right now, I would tell.

[Anderson Cooper]

Those people or ask those people to become educated on what we do and how we do it and what our authorizations are and the laws in general. Get out.

[Lesley Stahl]

Videos of confrontations between protesters and immigration agents seem to go viral nearly every day.

[Anderson Cooper]

They have a right to observe, record, and object to police activity.

[Lesley Stahl]

Do they have a right to get in an agent's face and call them a Nazi?

[Anderson Cooper]

People have a right to say disrespectful things. As a professional, I have an obligation not to take that personally and not to retaliate. However, they cannot physically obstruct law enforcement from performing a function. Those are. Those things are illegal.

[Lesley Stahl]

This past week, the Department of Homeland Security posted a message from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller telling ICE agents, you have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties. Does that mean that immigration agents can go into American cities and carry out immigration enforcement with no accountability, no consequences?

[Anderson Cooper]

I'm not going to comment on Mr. Miller's statement as far as in the context that you're asking. However, I will tell you that everywhere we go in the United States, our officers are out there conducting enforcement actions, and they're doing it lawfully and with professionalism.

[Lesley Stahl]

But scenes like this in Minneapolis, where one officer drags a woman and another points his gun at bystanders, have raised questions about their conduct. No one has been disciplined in any of these actions.

[Anderson Cooper]

No. No.

[Lesley Stahl]

I think a lot of people would be surprised to hear you say that.

[Anderson Cooper]

If you assault one of our officers, an assault would be putting hands on one of my officers, spitting in their face, pushing them. You're going to get arrested.

[Lesley Stahl]

I don't think most Americans would disagree with you on that. What concerns a lot of people is some of the images that they've seen. There's a perception out there that immigration agents in Minneapolis and many other cities are acting with impun.

[Anderson Cooper]

You're not seeing the entirety of the situation. Not only that, mainstream media is picking up those social media posts and putting them out as real news without looking at the whole story.

[Lesley Stahl]

We did look into this story. Six days after and two blocks away from where Renee Goode was killed. Alia Rahman, a US Citizen, was trying to get to an appointment at a traumatic brain injury clinic clinic when she came upon ICE officers who were blocking traffic. After arresting four people, We reviewed footage of the entire incident. Rahman's lawyer told us she was overwhelmed by conflicting commands from ice. I've Been caught up by police before. I'm disabled, so I can go to.

[Anderson Cooper]

The doctor up there.

[Lesley Stahl]

That's why I hadn't moved in the chaos. You can hear her say she is disabled.

[Anderson Cooper]

I am an autistic disabled person. I'm going to go to the doctor.

[Lesley Stahl]

Chief o' Hara hadn't seen the video before we showed it to him. Um, you were shaking watching that.

[Anderson Cooper]

Obviously. I don't know why law enforcement officers initially approached the vehicle. It pisses me off to see that. To see men doing that to a woman who's disabled. It pisses me off. If those cops works for me, they'd have a problem right now.

[Lesley Stahl]

Marcos Charles of ICE had a different take. He said Alia Rahman was given repeated warnings. She was arrested but never charged.

[Anderson Cooper]

Our officers are told that they give one warning to follow the lawful instruction to stop impeding. If she did not obey that lawful order, then she was going to get arrested.

[Lesley Stahl]

You know, I showed this same clip to the Minneapolis police chief, and he said if those cops worked for him, they'd have a problem.

[Anderson Cooper]

We're not Minneapolis pd.

[Lesley Stahl]

Are you bothered by seeing American citizens getting detained in these operations?

[Anderson Cooper]

I'm bothered by seeing people take action against my officers, using vehicles to try to ram them, assaulting my officers. Our officers are humans. You know, they're people.

[Lesley Stahl]

The Department of Homeland Security released these images of injured ICE officers. According to the agency, attacks on ICE officers nationwide jumped from 19 in 2024 to 275 last year. In many cases, those injuries were sustained as agents were carrying out what ICE calls targeted enforcement.

[Anderson Cooper]

What's your name? What's your name?

[Lesley Stahl]

In Minneapolis, many residents say it seems to be less targeted. Every day, American citizens are getting stopped and questioned, including a woman walking down the street.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

Where were you born? It doesn't matter where I was born. I belong here. I am US Citizen.

[Lesley Stahl]

And this Uber driver I could hear.

[Anderson Cooper]

You don't have the same accent as me. That's why I'm accented. Oh, so you're going by accents now? People have been stopped for simply appearing to be Somali or appearing to be Latino or appearing to be foreign. And it's concerning because we also know we're not getting these stories from Irish folks and Norwegian folks here. Our officers are conducting targeted enforcement, looking for the worst of the worst. If they encounter anybody in the area of which they're operating, they are okay to talk to those people. They've been authorized to talk to anybody that's around there and establish citizenship.

[Lesley Stahl]

How is that targeted enforcement?

[Anderson Cooper]

If they were in that area looking for a target and they were en route or coming from that target and encountered that individual. They are authorized to talk to somebody and speak somebody.

[Lesley Stahl]

How do you define the area? Officers are walking down the street, driving down the street. The entire city in Minneapolis. Is everybody potentially, potentially under suspicion?

[Anderson Cooper]

No, nobody's under suspicion, but we're looking for those targets. And again, if we encounter somebody as we're walking up to a building, as we're en route to that building, that's still part of that operation as they proceed to that target.

[Lesley Stahl]

On Friday, sources told CBS News the Justice Department is investigating the city's mayor, Jacob Fry, and the state's governor, Tim Walls, both Democrats. The allegation that their public statements about ICE enforcement amount to criminal interference to ice.

[Anderson Cooper]

Get the out of Minneapolis.

[Lesley Stahl]

Ryan Walls called the investigation political intimidation. What could happen today, tomorrow to bring this temperature down out there, I think.

[Anderson Cooper]

It requires the president to say we're still gonna go after the worst of the worst, but we're not gonna be treating American citizens in ways that risk destroying a beautiful American city.

[Holly Williams]

Par les tout hablas parle italiano.

[Anderson Cooper]

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[Sharon Alfonsi]

50% off regular price for new customers. Upfront payment required. $45 for three months, $90 for six months or $180 for a 12 month plan. Taxes and fees. Extra speeds may slow after 50 gigabytes per month when network is busy. See terms. Nicolas Maduro, the former president of Venezuela now sits in a federal jail in New York awaiting trial after a high stakes raid. The White House touted Maduro's capture as a Blow to narco terrorists who it says flooded US streets with drugs. The repression of the Maduro regime over more than a decade forced 8 million Venezuelans to flee, nearly a million of them to the United States. Last year, in the biggest US immigration crackdown in recent history, hundreds of those Venezuelans were deported to El Salvador, a country most had no connection to. The White House claimed they were part of a violent gang and designated them as terrorists. The administration invoked a centuries old wartime power, the Alien Enemies act, to rapidly deport some of the men. Between March and April of last year, the US sent 252 Venezuelan men to a brutal maximum security prison in El Salvador known as Cecotri. You'll hear from two of those men. They describe torture, sexual and physical abuse inside the prison. Since November, 60 Minutes has made several attempts to interview key Trump administration officials on camera about our story. They declined our requests. Tonight, our report from inside seacot. It began as soon as the planes landed. The deep deportees thought they were headed back to Venezuela, but then saw hundreds of Salvadoran police waiting for them on the tarmac. Shackled, they were paraded in front of cameras, pushed onto buses and delivered to cecot, El Salvador's notorious maximum security prison.

[Anderson Cooper]

When we got there, the SECOT director was talking to us. The first thing he told us was that we would never see the light of day or night again. He said, welcome to hell. I'll make sure you never leave.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

Did you think you were going to die there?

[Anderson Cooper]

We thought we were already the living dead, honestly.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

We met Luis Munoz Pinto in Colombia. He was a college student in repressive Venezuela and hope to seek asylum in the United States in 2024. He says he waited in Mexico until his scheduled appointment with US Customs and Border Protection in California. During that interview, they just looked at.

[Anderson Cooper]

Me and told me I was a danger to society.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

You have no criminal record? Nothing.

[Anderson Cooper]

I don't even. I never even got a traffic ticket.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

Nevertheless, he was detained by customs. He says he spent six months locked up in the US waiting for a decision on his asylum case when he was deported, one of 252 Venezuelans sent to Sicot between March and April. Inside, he says, their hands and feet were tied, forced to their knees, their heads were shaved.

[Anderson Cooper]

There was blood everywhere, screams, people crying, people who couldn't take it and were urinating and vomiting on themselves. When you get there, you already know you're in hell. You don't need anyone else to tell you.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

He says the guards began savagely beating them with their fists and Batons. Tell me about what they did to you personally.

[Anderson Cooper]

Four guards grabbed me and they beat me until I bled to the point of agony. They knocked our faces against the wall. That was when they broke one of my teeth.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

Cecot, the Terrorism Confinement center, was built in 2022 as a key part of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's sweeping anti gang crackdown. The massive prison, designed to hold 40,000 inmates and its harsh reputation are a point of prospect pride for Bukele, who regularly allows social media influencers to tour it.

[Anderson Cooper]

As you can see, we're literally in the middle of the desert.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

Guards show off cramped cells where metal bunks are stacked four high. There are no mattresses or sheets. Inmates said they had no access to the outdoors and no contact with relatives. International observers warned Secot was violating the U.S. standard for minimum treatment of prisoners. And two years ago, during the Biden administration, the U.S. state Department cited torture and life threatening prison conditions in its report on El Salvador. But this year, during a meeting with President Bukele at the White House, President Trump expressed admiration for El Salvador's prison system.

[Anderson Cooper]

They're great facilities, very strong facilities, and they don't play games.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

In March, the US struck a deal to pay El Salvador $4.7 million to house Venezuelan deportees at Seacot.

[Holly Williams]

These are heinous monsters.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

Rapists, murderers, kidnappers, sexual assaulters, predators who.

[Holly Williams]

Have no right to be in this country and they must be held accountable.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

The US Government said. These people are the worst of the worst.

[Anderson Cooper]

These people are migrants. And the sad reality is that the US Government tried to make an example out of them. They sent them to a place where they were likely to be tortured. To send migrants across Latin America the message that they should not come to the United States.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

Juan Papier is a deputy director at the nonprofit Human Rights watch. In an 81 page report released in November, the organization concluded there was systematic torture and other abuses at Cecotra and that nearly half of the Venezuelans the US sent there had no criminal history. Only eight of the men had been convicted of a violent or potentially violent offense. How do you know they weren't gang members?

[Anderson Cooper]

We cross reference federal databases, databases in all 50 states in the United States, and also obtained criminal records in Venezuela and in the countries where these people lived. And the information we obtained in the United States is based on data provided.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

By ICE, so ICE's own records said.

[Anderson Cooper]

ICE's own records say that only 3% of them had been sentenced for a violent or potentially violent crime.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

60 Minutes reviewed the available ICE data. It confirms the findings of Human Rights watch. It shows 70 men had pending criminal charges in the US which could include immigration violations. We don't know because the Department of Homeland Security has never released a complete list of the names or criminal histories of the men it sent to Seekot. Rapid deportations have been a key part of the Trump administration's immigration overhaul. The administration considers anyone who crosses the border illegally to be a criminal. Illegal crossings are now at a historic level low. But some immigration attorneys say the administration has used flawed criteria to justify deportations.

[Anderson Cooper]

I have some tattoos. None of them have anything to do with any criminal group. I explained to them, saying that I didn't belong to any gang. To which the agent responded, but you are Venezuelano.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

60 Minutes reviewed this document. Agents used to assess Venezuelans. A person with eight points was designated as a trend gang member and deportable. Tattoos that immigration officers suspected of being gang related earned four points. But criminologists who study gangs say tattoos are not a reliable way to identify Venezuelan gang members because unlike some Central American gangs, such as MS.13, TrendiRagua does not use tattoos to signal membership. Venezuelan national William Lozada Sanchez was also deported to cecot. He told us the guards there also accused Venezuelans with tattoos of being gang members. He detailed months of abuse and being forced into stress positions. So you had to be on your knees for 24 hours?

[Anderson Cooper]

Yes, because they put a guard there to watch us so that we wouldn't move.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

And what would happen if you could make it?

[Lesley Stahl]

They take us to the island.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

What's the island?

[Anderson Cooper]

The island is a little room where.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

There'S no light, no ventilation, nothing.

[Anderson Cooper]

It's a cell for punishment where you can't see your hand in front of your face. After they locked us in, they came.

[Lesley Stahl]

To beat us every half hour, and.

[Anderson Cooper]

They pounded on the door with their sticks to traumatize us while we were in there. The torture was never ending. They would take you there and beat you for hours and leave you locked in there for days.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

Some of the deportees described being sexually assaulted by the guards. They were hitting your private parts with a baton.

[Anderson Cooper]

No, no. They tugged at them with their hands.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

And they did that to multiple people.

[Anderson Cooper]

To most of us.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

The men say they grew weaker by the day. They claim the prison lights were left on 24 hours a day, making it difficult to sleep, and that food and medicine were often withheld. Did you have access to clean water?

[Anderson Cooper]

They never gave us access to clean water. The same water from our baths and Toilets was the same water that we had to drink and survive on if we had serious injuries. When the doctors examined us, they told us that drinking water would heal it.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

So they're tying the injured prisoners to drink water. And the water's filthy.

[Anderson Cooper]

Super social, super filthy. The sicker and more injured we were, the better it was for them.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

In late March, about 10 days after the first U.S. deportees arrived, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem toured the prison. Did they speak to anybody, any of the prisoners?

[Anderson Cooper]

Never. Not with any of the detainees. They never spoke to us. We only saw the cameras.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

At some point, Secretary Noem went to another area of the prison to record this video. First of all, I want to thank El Salvador and their president for their partnership with the United States of America to bring our terrorists here and to incarcerate them and have consequences. There were men standing behind her, heavily tattooed. Who are those men? Do we know?

[Anderson Cooper]

We know that those men in her video are not Venezuelans. They are Salvadorians, probably accused of being gang leaders. Probably people who have been in jail for many, many years in El Salvador.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

Human Rights Watch was able to confirm that with the help of this intrepid team of students at UC Berkeley's Human.

[Anderson Cooper]

Rights center, all the visible men have either an Ms. On their chest or a 13 or an ES for El Salvador. And all those gangs are associated with El Salvador, not the Venezuelans.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

To help verify the deportee stories for Human Rights Watch, the team of students combed through open source data for weeks. Students are trained in advanced techniques and follow strict international standards for obtaining digital evidence that can be used in courts. Analyzing satellite imagery, they mapped the prison and identified the building where the Venezuelans were held. And remember all those influencers who filmed inside. Seekot one toward an isolation cell.

[Anderson Cooper]

These are the rooms of solitary confinement.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

That match the description of the so called island where the deportees described being tortured.

[Anderson Cooper]

And they get absolutely nothing to use to sleep or to rest, just pure conquer.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

A show and tell of the armory confirmed CECOT had the weapons the Venezuelans say guards used on them. We did see in these videos was the use of the T batons on prisoners. Additionally, we also saw the use of painful body positions. They were showing that off in the videos and they do that.

[Holly Williams]

It's sort of a practice.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

But it was this interview with the prison warden that proved to be most helpful.

[Anderson Cooper]

The light system is 24 hours a day.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

One of the questions that we had was, are the lights on 24 7? He said, yes, they are. So he's talking about how hot it can get in the prison. So there's this sort of pride around the poor conditions and around the suffering. Using extreme temperatures or light to disorient inmates is also prohibited under UN standards.

[Holly Williams]

I think one of the things that.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

The work of this team has really shown is that a lot of these stories can be believed. And Alexa Koenig is the director of Berkeley's Investigations Lab, which trains students to research war crimes and human rights violations. And it's those little details that I.

[Holly Williams]

Think then if you can bring that.

[Sharon Alfonsi]

Together with the physical evidence, I think you have the strongest possible case for accountability, whether it's a court of public opinion or at some point in a court of law. The Department of Homeland Security declined our request for an interview and referred all questions about Zicat to El Salvador. The government there did not respond to our request. In July, after four months, the 252 Venezuelan men were finally released from Sikot and sent back to Caracas in exchange for 10Americans that had been imprisoned in Venezuela. The Trump administration has arranged more deals, some valued at millions of dollars, to offload US Deportees to so called third countries, nations to which they have no connection. Among them, war torn South Sudan and Uganda, which have well documented histories of torturing prisoners. 60 Minutes has repeatedly asked the Department of Homeland Security for the complete records and criminal backgrounds of all 252 Venezuelan men the US sent to Seekot. It would not provide them. This past week, DHS told us we are confident in our law enforcement's intelligence and we aren't going to share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies he is one. That would be insane. Because of this, we relied on the ICE data that is available for our reporting. Of the 252 men, that data shows that 33 had been convicted of a crime in the US again, eight of them for violent or potentially violent crimes. Another 70 had pending charges, but we don't know the nature of those charges because DHS refuses to share that information. Neither of the two detainees in our story has been convicted of any crimes in the U.S. nine days ago, DHS sent 60 Minutes a photo of William Lozada, Sanchez's left army, with this swastika tattoo. When we interviewed Lozada in November, this is what his arm looked like. He told us he got the offensive tattoo at 15 and didn't know what it meant. He claims he regretted it and had it changed. Just before the US sent him to Seekot, five gang experts told us that swastikas and 666, another tattoo on Lozada's arm, have no connection to the violent Venezuelan gang trend. In a statement to 60 Minutes, the White House said President Trump is committed to keeping his promises to the American people by removing dangerous, criminal and terrorist illegal aliens. The administration's statements are available in full online. DHS deflected all questions about abuse allegations at cecot, saying the men were not under US Jurisdiction while in El Salvador. But last month, a federal judge ruled that the US had maintained what's called constructive custody over the Venezuelans who were sent to seekot under the Alien Enemies Act. He ordered the Trump administration to give those men the due process. They were denied. In a declaration to the court, Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained in part that bringing the deported Venezuelans to the US for hearings or holding remote ones at this time would risk material damage to US Foreign policy interests in Venezuela.

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[Sharon Alfonsi]

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[Anderson Cooper]

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[Sharon Alfonsi]

Now. Holly Williams on assignment for 60 Minutes.

[Holly Williams]

Australia's infamous for the variety of ways its wildlife can kill you Deadly snakes, spiders and jellyfish. But when it comes to inspiring fear, Australia's saltwater crocodiles are in a category of their own. They can grow to more than 20ft, weigh over a ton, and have a bite force strong enough to crush a human skull. Salties, as Australians call the apex predators, live across swathes of the country's north. They're protected by law, and because of that, their numbers have surged in recent years, creating friction with another species. Humans. In the tropical city of Darwin, the sunsets on the beach are spectacular. Though most people stay well away from the water, Darwin's surrounded by crocodile habitat, and salties are known for being territorial. A quick dip in the sea would be over in a flash if you ran into this creature. So it's just luck.

[Anderson Cooper]

Yeah, luck.

[Holly Williams]

You could go for a swim here and be fine.

[Anderson Cooper]

I wouldn't go for a swim.

[Lesley Stahl]

No.

[Holly Williams]

On the shores of Darwin's idyllic harbour, crocodiles sometimes show up in backyards anywhere they get too close. Close to humans. Tom Nichols and his team of government rangers have the job of removing them.

[Anderson Cooper]

One of those crops that doesn't want to open his mouth.

[Holly Williams]

They're known as problem crocodiles. They're catching them is fairly easy in cages baited with wild boar meat. It's getting an angry salty out of a floating trap with a rope and a zip tie. That's an art form. Nichols told us this six footer wasn't fully grown yet, but could easily kill a human.

[Anderson Cooper]

Now this size crocodile, he wouldn't kill you by biting unless he bit you in a certain place. But he would drown you quite easily. He'd take you down and under underwater and then he then he'll come back up and then start spinning around.

[Holly Williams]

And that's what they call the death roll.

[Anderson Cooper]

The death roll, that's correct.

[Holly Williams]

That's how a crocodile took off half of Nicol's left hand just over 20 years ago in this exact spot with the crockery.

[Anderson Cooper]

If it didn't spin, I would have been alright. But trouble is he spinning. He spun all my hand around.

[Holly Williams]

You operate just fine with three fingers on your left hand. Is there anything you can't do?

[Anderson Cooper]

Yeah, pick my nose with my left.

[Holly Williams]

All joking aside, salties are the largest reptiles on the planet. Much bigger than alligators. And according to some scientists, the Australian crocs are the world's most aggressive. But that didn't protect them from hunters.

[Anderson Cooper]

The huge reptile is master one of 33 captured on this exciting trip.

[Holly Williams]

By the 1970s, they were so close to extinction with just a few thousand left that Australian officials banned nearly all crocodile hunting. Since then, the population's bounced back to over 150,000 and counting. That's a conservation success story. To some, a menace to others.

[Anderson Cooper]

Crocodiles are way misunderstood. They've survived the times of the dinosaurs and that is a question of respect.

[Holly Williams]

They're also pretty scary.

[Anderson Cooper]

Not really. Humans are far more scary. We kill each other for a lot less for money. And crocodiles only kill for food.

[Holly Williams]

Trevor Sullivan keeps 10 saltwater crocodiles in his backyard behind patched up chain links fencing. Can I stand up on the back here? Oh my God. He feeds them whole chickens by hand. He rescued most of them from crocodile farms and research facilities, including the biggest one, Shah, who's over 120 years old and missing part of his jaw. Trevor, what would happen if this fence wasn't here?

[Anderson Cooper]

Nothing.

[Holly Williams]

What do you mean nothing?

[Anderson Cooper]

I've fed him in there. I've gone in and fed him.

[Holly Williams]

You go over the fence?

[Anderson Cooper]

Yeah.

[Holly Williams]

With a 16 foot crocodile?

[Anderson Cooper]

He's not a Problem that one is. It's all right here. It's all right, sir.

[Holly Williams]

Sullivan's a self described conservationist and told us he keeps crossing crocodiles to prove they can co exist safely with humans.

[Anderson Cooper]

They enter to their name. They come with you, teach them, you train them, get them into a routine. They're not just pet, they're family.

[Holly Williams]

I'm sorry, they're family.

[Anderson Cooper]

They're family.

[Holly Williams]

Okay, so just for the sake of clarity, they don't see you as food.

[Anderson Cooper]

No, I bring food.

[Holly Williams]

You're also a big chunk of protein.

[Anderson Cooper]

Yes. Dogs eat meat. They don't generally see you as food.

[Lesley Stahl]

Rangers are searching for a killer crocodile which hunted down.

[Holly Williams]

The truth is that crocodiles do kill people. Though we were surprised to learn that only around 50 deaths have been reported in Australia since hunting was banned half a century ago. That might be because of public education campaigns warning people to keep a distance. Many of those who've been killed by salties misjudged where it was safe to swim or go fishing. But there's also anger in Australia that the law protects crocodiles instead of people they die.

[Anderson Cooper]

Yeah, well, so do we at the end of the day.

[Holly Williams]

Bob Katter is a member of Australia's parliament with a reputation as a combative lawmaker.

[Anderson Cooper]

You're going to get a big bath. You're going to get a big bath. Order.

[Holly Williams]

You're a very popular man in these parts. One of Katter's most controversial positions is that he wants the crocodile hunting ban repealed.

[Anderson Cooper]

Yes. Yes.

[Holly Williams]

His electorate is about 1,000 miles southeast of Darwin. Much of it's farmland where cattle are sometimes eaten by salties. When you were growing up in northern Australia, did you used to go swimming in the rivers here?

[Anderson Cooper]

Oh, absolutely. You know, every Saturday, Sunday he'd be down the river.

[Holly Williams]

Can the children do that now? Can they go swimming in the river?

[Anderson Cooper]

No way. No way. You would risk your life if you went near any of these waterways.

[Holly Williams]

He told us he's tempted to risk arrest by shooting a crocodile himself. You think the law is evil?

[Anderson Cooper]

Ah yes, absolutely. A law that puts the value of crocodile over a human being, that is the definition of evil.

[Holly Williams]

Bob Katter believes that legalising crocodile hunting would make waterways safe again and turn a profit by attracting big game hunters. Other Australians disagree with his science and his economics. They say salties are worth more alive than dead. Darwin's roaring tourism trade relies in large part part on crocodiles.

[Anderson Cooper]

Wow, look at that guys. Great time to see crocodiles now. Beautiful.

[Holly Williams]

Oh yeah, just outside the city. You can pay for a close encounter with some cold blooded killers.

[Anderson Cooper]

And he'll be waiting for you to look away. He'll move real quick. Oh my God. Believe me, if he grab hold of you, that's it. You, you're gone.

[Holly Williams]

Humans and crocodiles have shared this land for around 50,000 years. We drove to Kakadu national park to meet some of Australia's indigenous people. Kakadu is bigger than Connecticut, home to a few hundred people and around 10,000 crocodiles.

[Anderson Cooper]

Oh, thank you.

[Holly Williams]

Gleeson Nabulwad is an indigenous Australian who works as a river guide.

[Anderson Cooper]

Look like something indy.

[Holly Williams]

Like other traditional owners, he's permitted by law to hunt crocodiles for food. How do you hunt it?

[Anderson Cooper]

Spear.

[Holly Williams]

With a spear. Is it good eating?

[Lesley Stahl]

Yeah, they taste like fish.

[Anderson Cooper]

Like fish.

[Holly Williams]

Nabulwad and his friend Robert Namarnjilk told us Indigenous Australians disagree about salties. Just like other Australians, some favour commercial hunting. Others prize them as a totem or spiritual emblem that should be left alone.

[Anderson Cooper]

It's like a crocodile in us. We've been together for a very long time.

[Holly Williams]

You have a special connection.

[Anderson Cooper]

Yes.

[Holly Williams]

Trevor Sullivan is also of indigenous ancestry. He believes living with saltwater crocodiles is not just possible, but a privilege.

[Anderson Cooper]

It's the best fun being able to coexist with saltwater crocodiles. The most dangerous predator on earth. And your croc attacks are almost non existent.

[Holly Williams]

But isn't one fatal attack of a human being too many attacks?

[Anderson Cooper]

Well, what are we supposed to die from?

[Holly Williams]

Millions of years before people ever set foot on this wild land, Australia was crocheting country. As humans debate their future, the crocodiles are a lesson in survival.

[Anderson Cooper]

I'm Scott Pelley. We'll be back next week with another edition of 60 Minutes.

[Holly Williams]

Have a news tip to send to 60 Minutes? Learn how you can send information to our journalists [e-mail] Paramount is the new home of UFC.

[Lesley Stahl]

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