El Salvador's President refutes claims by Kilmar Abrego Garcia regarding physical assaults and mistreatment in prison.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration in March, has returned to the United States and is currently in federal custody, facing trial on smuggling charges. His return followed a constitutional crisis and a Supreme Court ruling that deemed his deportation "illegal."
Upon his arrival in the U.S., Abrego Garcia provided detailed accounts of the severe physical and psychological abuse he endured after being deported to El Salvador. He was reportedly shackled and handed over to Salvadoran authorities, an incident that was celebrated by President Nayib Bukele through edited videos.
Abrego Garcia spent more than three weeks at El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a notorious supermax prison. His lawyers have previously described his stay as "torture." In new legal filings, Abrego Garcia described the conditions at CECOT as detainees being confined to metal bunks with no mattresses, in overcrowded cells with no windows, under bright lights that remained on 24 hours a day, and with minimal access to sanitation.
Human rights groups have documented cases of torture and deteriorated conditions in El Salvador's prisons, with hundreds of people reportedly dying in these institutions. The government of El Salvador, under President Bukele, has detained over 1% of the Central American nation's population in its war on gangs.
President Bukele has refuted the allegations made by Abrego Garcia about being beaten and subjected to psychological torture while in prison in El Salvador. However, Abrego Garcia's allegations align with accounts from other Salvadorans detained during Bukele's state of emergency.
Before his deportation, Abrego Garcia was living in Maryland. His wife filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in Maryland federal court after his deportation. The Trump administration has asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming it is now moot because Abrego Garcia has been returned to the U.S. as ordered by the court. The new details of Abrego Garcia's incarceration in El Salvador have been added to the lawsuit.
Abrego Garcia's initial court appearance in the U.S. was on June 6, 2025, and a hearing for arraignment and a pre-trial detention decision was scheduled for June 13. The current status of the legal saga involving Abrego Garcia remains active, with ongoing court proceedings in Tennessee.
- The news of Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return to the United States has been circulating in general-news and social-media platforms, as he faces trial on smuggling charges after being mistakenly deported by the Trump administration.
- The alleged physical and psychological abuse experienced by Abrego Garcia while in El Salvador's prisons has raised serious concerns about the law and justice system in the country, particularly under President Nayib Bukele.
- The crime-and-justice sector has been severely scrutinized due to Abrego Garcia's claims of torture in El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a supermax prison, which aligns with accounts from other detainees under Bukele's state of emergency.
- The ongoing legal saga involving Abrego Garcia, comprising the lawsuit filed by his wife against the Trump administration and his trial on smuggling charges, is a hot topic in both politics and entertainment, drawing attention to the broader issues of constitutional rights and immigration laws.
