A peek into the El Salvador prison to which Kilmar Abrego Garcia was relocated following his transfer from the supermax facility
Let's Talk About Kilmar Abrego Garcia's Odd Journey
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SANTA ANA, El Salvador - Ever wondered what happens when a misplaced deportation lands you in a farmyard instead of a supermax prison? Let's have a chat about the peculiar case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Contrast the CECOT, a supermax mega-prison designed specifically for gang members, with the Centro Industrial prison in Santa Ana you'll find Abrego Garcia residing. Instead of cell-bound gang members with bright tattoos, inmates here wear yellow T-shirts and move about more freely. Many spend days outdoors, caring for dairy cows or tending to vegetable gardens. Others find employment in factories, making uniforms for the armed forces or desks for public schools.
The government brands these inmates as "trusted inmates": they've shown good behavior and are nearing the end of their sentences. What's worth noting is that anyone accused of gang affiliation is strictly prohibited from this low-security prison.
"No gang members work here," the prison's director, Samuel Diaz, proudly declared during our tour of the Centro Industrial.
While we couldn't secure an interview with Abrego Garcia, his fellow inmates didn't hold back. They praised the prison conditions, going as far as calling them "perfect" and "excellent."
Abrego Garcia's transfer from CECOT, the controversial supermax prison, to Centro Industrial sparked concerns among human rights advocates in El Salvador and the United States. The transfer contradicts a central claim made by both governments - that Abrego Garcia is a dangerous member of MS-13 and a terrorist (his wife and lawyer insist otherwise).
Abrego Garcia's whereabouts and health situation remain shrouded in mystery since his deportation. He's been kept isolated from his family and lawyers, with no contact permissible. His only known contact was during a meeting with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on April 17, when he reported that he'd been transferred from CECOT to a different facility - later confirmed to be Centro Industrial by the Justice Department in their April 20 court filing.
The details surrounding Abrego Garcia's transfer are worrisome, says Gabriela Santos, director of the Human Rights Institute at the Central American University in San Salvador.
"Why was he moved?" she wonders. "And where are all the other migrants that were brought here - are they in CECOT, or are they being placed in various prisons throughout El Salvador?"
According to Santos, there is no viable means to challenge El Salvador's policy of accepting and imprisoning deportees sent by the United States. She asserts that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele lacks a firm legal basis for the agreement, which could easily raise eyebrows given its questionable legality.
Like Abrego Garcia and others sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration, all inmates in the Salvadoran prison system face communication barriers with their loved ones, lawyers, and the outside world at large. This policy is a result of the "state of exception" declared by Bukele in 2022, after a surge of violent gang crimes swept across the country. This state of exception led to the suspension of many constitutional safeguards and the mass incarceration of thousands of people without due process.
About 85,000 people were imprisoned under this state of exception, according to Salvadoran human rights groups. Many were subjected to mass trials of a hundred or more defendants with no access to legal counsel. Advocates have documented numerous stories of individuals without gang affiliations being incarcerated indefinitely, with no chance of an appeal.
Critics have portrayed prison conditions in El Salvador as abominable, reporting systematic abuse, malnutrition, and torture. The nongovernmental legal organization Socorro Jurídico Humanitario documented 370 deaths in Salvadoran prisons since the state of exception was declared, a number they deemed an undercount.
Bukele has acknowledged that some innocent people have been arrested during the state of exception. However, the administration justifies holding people incommunicado as a necessary step to eliminate the control gangs had over El Salvador's prisons.
Since declaring the state of exception, safety has dramatically improved in El Salvador. Many citizens claim they feel secure enough to walk the streets of San Salvador without fear of gang harassment, extortion, or violence. These improvements have boosted Bukele's popularity, making him one of the most admired world leaders.
But human rights advocates caution that these safety improvements have come at a heavy cost to Salvadoran democracy. They claim Bukele's popularity can't be used as a catch-all excuse for authoritarianism, echoing Santos' sentiment: "Popularity cannot be a blank check for him to do anything he wants." History teaches us that popularity doesn't always equate to righteousness.
- The transfer of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from the controversial supermax prison, CECOT, to the low-security Centro Industrial prison has raised concerns among human rights advocates.
- Gabriel Santos, director of the Human Rights Institute at the Central American University, finds it worrisome that the details surrounding Kilmar Abrego Garcia's transfer are unclear, particularly as it contradicts claims that he is a dangerous member of MS-13.
- Santos questions the legal basis for Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's policy accepting and imprisoning deportees sent by the United States, expressing concern that it could easily raise eyebrows given its questionable legality.
- Critics argue that prison conditions in El Salvador are abominable, with systematic abuse, malnutrition, and torture reported, despite improvements in safety that have boosted Bukele's popularity.
