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