Salvadoran President Dismisses Abrego Garcia’s Claims of Torture

Garcia was indicted in May by a Tennessee federal grand jury for smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia in a hotel restaurant in San Salvador, El Salvador, on April 17, 2025. Press Office Senator Van Hollen via AP

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele dismissed claims by lawyers of suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia that he was tortured while in prison in the South American nation, according to a July 4 post on X by Bukele.

Garcia, 29, a native of El Salvador and an illegal immigrant, was sent to an El Salvadoran maximum security prison in El Salvador in March by the U.S. government for allegedly being a member of MS-13. Garcia was brought back to the United States last month after the Supreme Court ordered his return.

In a July 2 lawsuit filed by Garcia at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland against Trump administration officials, he claimed to have been tortured while in the CECOT prison, El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center. CECOT is one of the largest prisons in the world.

The lawsuit had claimed that Garcia was subjected to “severe mistreatment upon arrival at CECOT, including but not limited to severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition, and psychological torture.”

“During his first two weeks at CECOT, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia suffered a significant deterioration in his physical condition and lost approximately 31 pounds (dropping from approximately 215 pounds to 184 pounds),” the lawyers said in the complaint.

Bukele responded to the lawsuit, saying that Garcia “wasn’t tortured, nor did he lose weight.”

“In fact, photos show he gained weight while in detention,” he said.

The Salvadoran president said there was “plenty of footage from different days, including his meeting with Senator Van Hollen, who himself confirmed the man seemed fine.” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) met with Garcia in El Salvador on April 17.

During an April 19 press conference, Hollen was asked by reporters whether Garcia seemed to have been abused.

Hollen replied, “I did not get that sense.”

“Look, you never know, but I asked him if he was okay. He said yes. He said he has a blood pressure condition. He has seen a doctor. So, on a cursory examination, he appeared okay,” he said.

In his X post, Bukele said that if Garcia was “tortured, sleep-deprived, and starved, why does he look so well in every picture?”

“Why would he gain weight? Why are there no bruises, or even dark circles under his eyes?” he asked.

Bukele uploaded a video together with the post, showing Garcia in a clean living room with a bed, watching TV, getting a health checkup, and having access to sports and recreational facilities.

Bukele also chastised media reports on the issue.

“Apparently, anything a criminal claims is accepted as truth by the mainstream media and the crumbling Western judiciary,” he wrote in his post.

In Garcia’s lawsuit, lawyers said that their client was transferred to a different module at CECOT on April 9, where he was photographed with better food and mattresses. The images “appeared to be staged to document improved conditions,” the complaint said.

Transporting Illegals

Garcia has acknowledged that he entered the United States illegally in 2012. He had a wife and a son at the time he was deported to El Salvador in March.

The U.S. government deported Garcia for allegedly being a member of MS-13. However, a 2019 judicial order barred Garcia’s removal to his home country due to concerns about his safety.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement official Robert Cerna II later said in a court filing that there was an “administrative error” in Garcia’s removal to El Salvador.

In April, the Supreme Court, recognizing the 2019 ruling that barred Garcia’s deportation to that country, asked the government to “facilitate” his release from El Salvador and bring him back to the United States.

On May 21, a Tennessee federal grand jury indicted him on two felony charges of smuggling illegal immigrants into America and conspiring with others to do so.

Garcia is accused of using his MS-13 status to “further his criminal activity,” according to the indictment, which added that many individuals whom he allegedly transported to the United States were members of or associated with MS-13.

His attorneys called the case against him “baseless.”

“This is all based on the statements of individuals who are currently either facing prosecution or in federal prison,” said attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg.

On June 27, White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson said in a post on X that Garcia was “returned to the United States to face trial for the egregious charges against him.”

“He will face the full force of the American justice system—including serving time in American prison for the crimes he’s committed,” Jackson wrote.