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.