In Iran there is, so far, no sign of a mutinous mood
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Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Embarrassing new video contradicts deported domestic abuser's claims he was tortured in El Salvador superjail
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has hit out at accusations made by a Maryland migrant who claims he was tortured inside a notorious El Salavador prison. Kilmar Abrego Garcia alleges he was physically abused and forced to endure inhumane conditions in El Salvador's notorious CECOT super-prison after being removed from country as part of Donald Trump's border crackdown. In court documents filed Wednesday, he alleged he was severely beaten, deprived of sleep and psychologically tortured in the CECOT prison. He said he was kicked and hit so often after arrival that by the following day, he had visible bruises and lumps all over his body. In a bid to debunk the accusations, the Salvadoran leader shared a video with a message denying Garcia was mistreated. Garcia's lawsuit alleged constant threats from fellow inmates and harsh, 24-hour lighting. However, the newly released footage paints a starkly different picture. Rather than the frail, tortured figure described in his court documents, Garcia appears calm and well-adjusted. Garcia described losing more than 30 pounds within two weeks at CECOT, citing overcrowded cells, inmate violence, and threats from guards. In one segment, Garcia is seen in good spirits as he enjoyed cocktails with Senator Chris Van Hollen, one week after he was moved from CECOT - the maximum security prison where he alleges the abuse took place. The video shows Garcia - who previously alleged torture and inhumane conditions in El Salvador's notorious CECOT super-prison - appearing in good spirits, smiling and shaking hands with officials at the airport just before boarding a flight to the U.S. The Maryland Senator, who visited Garcia in El Salvador, said that he 'did not' sense any abuse during their meeting, according to an April 18 interview. Video from Garcia's time at the Centro Industrial prison in Santa Ana, El Salvador, where he was transferred after CECOT, shows him participating in recreational activities like soccer, fishing, and gardening. Garcia was also seen smiling and shaking hands with officials at the airport just before boarding a flight back to the U.S. In the clip, he's seen moving comfortably, with no visible signs of the abuse he described. Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador on March 15, 2020, was part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, despite a 2019 U.S. immigration judge ruling that barred his deportation due to threats from gang violence in his home country. Garcia's deportation was later labeled an 'administrative error,' prompting legal action from him and his wife, who filed a lawsuit claiming he was tortured during his detention. The Trump administration claimed hand tattoos were evidence that Garcia was a member of MS-13, and footage later emerged showing he was suspected of human trafficking in 2022. Garcia's deportation was a significant point of dispute for immigration advocates, who called it unjust and hasty. The Trump administration, however, has since defended the decision, labeling Garcia an MS-13 gang member. Meanwhile, Garcia is facing human smuggling charges in Tennessee. A federal judge has ruled that he is eligible for release under certain conditions as he awaits trial. However, his attorneys requested that he remain in jail for fear of another deportation. Justice Department officials have indicated plans to prosecute Garcia on smuggling charges before considering any further deportation, according to the Associated Press. Separately, the department has stated that Garcia may be deported to a third country instead of El Salvador, though no timeline has been provided. Garcia's attorneys have expressed concerns that he could be deported immediately.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
El Salvador's president denies that Kilmar Ábrego García was abused in notorious prison
The president of El Salvador has denied claims that Kilmar Ábrego García was subjected to beatings and deprivation while he was held in the country before being returned to the US to face human-smuggling charges. Nayib Bukele said in a social media post that Ábrego García, the Salvadorian national who was wrongly extradited from the US to El Salvador in March before being returned in June, 'wasn't tortured, nor did he lose weight'. Bukele showed pictures and video of Ábrego García in a detention cell, adding: 'If he'd been tortured, sleep-deprived, and starved, why does he look so well in every picture?' Ábrego García's lawyers said last week that he had suffered 'severe beatings', sleep deprivation, malnutrition and other forms of torture while he was held in El Salvador's notorious anti-terrorism prison, Cecot. Ábrego García said detainees at Cecot 'were confined to metal bunks with no mattresses in an overcrowded cell with no windows, bright lights that remained on 24 hours a day and minimal access to sanitation'. His lawyers say he lost 31 pounds during his first two weeks of confinement. They said that, at one point, Ábrego García and four other inmates were transferred to a different part of the prison, 'where they were photographed with mattresses and better food – photos that appeared to be staged to document improved conditions'. Bukele made no reference to whether the photos he showed to claim Ábrego García wasn't mistreated were taken in a nicer part of the prison. Bukele recently struck a deal under which the US will pay about $6m for El Salvador to imprison members of what the US administration claims are members of MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, two gangs, for a year. According to Maryland senator Chris van Hollen, who traveled to El Salvador to meet with Ábrego García while he was detained there, the Trump administration intends to provide up to $15m to El Salvador for the controversial detention service. Bukele's remarks came as the Tennessee judge in Ábrego García's human-smuggling complaint ordered both sides to stop making public statements, after Ábrego García's legal team accused the government of attempting to smear him without evidence as a 'monster', 'terrorist' and 'barbarian'. Lawyers for Ábrego García argued in a court filing that the government had violated a local rule barring comments that could be prejudicial to a fair trial. 'For months, the government has made extensive and inflammatory extrajudicial comments about Mr Ábrego that are likely to prejudice his right to a fair trial,' Ábrego García's lawyers said in a filing. 'These comments continued unabated – if anything they ramped up – since his indictment in this district, making clear the government's intent to engage in a 'trial by newspaper'.' The US district judge Waverly Crenshaw issued the gag order in a two-sentence ruling. Ábrego García's legal team has accused the government of trying to convict him in the court of public opinion since it acknowledged that it had mistakenly sent him to a prison in El Salvador despite a court order barring the move. 'As Mr Ábrego's plight captured national attention, officials occupying the highest positions of the United States government baselessly labeled him a 'gangbanger', 'monster', 'illegal predator', 'illegal alien terrorist', 'wife beater', 'barbarian' and 'human trafficker,'' the filing said. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion The attorneys singled out the vice-president, JD Vance, who they said had lied when he called Ábrego García a 'convicted MS-13 gang member'. They also said that Trump administration officials had made 20 more public statements about their client when he was arraigned, including in remarks by the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, and the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche. They also said the attorney general, Pam Bondi, accused their client of crimes he hadn't been accused of, including links to a murder case. In sum, the statements had asserted Ábrego García's guilt 'without regard to the judicial process or the presumption of innocence', the filing said. According to the documents filed on Wednesday, officials within the prison acknowledged that Ábrego García was not a gang member, and that his tattoos did not indicate a gang affiliation. 'Prison officials explicitly acknowledged that plaintiff Ábrego García's tattoos were not gang-related, telling him 'your tattoos are fine',' according to the filing, and they kept him in a cell separate from those accused of gang membership. The prison officials, however, threatened to move Ábrego García into a cell with gang members whom officials said 'would 'tear' him apart'. Separately, US prosecutors have agreed with a request by Ábrego García's lawyers to delay his release from Tennessee jail over fears that the Trump administration could move to deport the Salvadorian national a second time. In a filing on Friday, lawyers for Ábrego García asked the judge overseeing a federal complaint that he was involved in human smuggling to delay his release because of 'contradictory statements' by the Trump's administration over whether he'll be deported upon release. The justice department has said it plans to try the Maryland construction worker on the smuggling charges, but also that it plans to deport him but has not said when.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
El Salvador's president denies that Kilmar Ábrego García was abused in notorious prison
The president of El Salvador has denied claims that Kilmar Ábrego García was subjected to beatings and deprivation while he was held in the country before being returned to the US to face human-smuggling charges. Nayib Bukele said in a social media post that Ábrego García, the Salvadorian national who was wrongly extradited from the US to El Salvador in March before being returned in June, 'wasn't tortured, nor did he lose weight'. Bukele showed pictures and video of Ábrego García in a detention cell, adding: 'If he'd been tortured, sleep-deprived, and starved, why does he look so well in every picture?' Ábrego García's lawyers said last week that he had suffered 'severe beatings', sleep deprivation, malnutrition and other forms of torture while he was held in El Salvador's notorious anti-terrorism prison, Cecot. Ábrego García said detainees at Cecot 'were confined to metal bunks with no mattresses in an overcrowded cell with no windows, bright lights that remained on 24 hours a day and minimal access to sanitation'. His lawyers say he lost 31 pounds during his first two weeks of confinement. They said that, at one point, Ábrego García and four other inmates were transferred to a different part of the prison, 'where they were photographed with mattresses and better food – photos that appeared to be staged to document improved conditions'. Bukele made no reference to whether the photos he showed to claim Ábrego García wasn't mistreated were taken in a nicer part of the prison. Bukele recently struck a deal under which the US will pay about $6m for El Salvador to imprison members of what the US administration claims are members of MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, two gangs, for a year. According to Maryland senator Chris van Hollen, who traveled to El Salvador to meet with Ábrego García while he was detained there, the Trump administration intends to provide up to $15m to El Salvador for the controversial detention service. Bukele's remarks came as the Tennessee judge in Ábrego García's human-smuggling complaint ordered both sides to stop making public statements, after Ábrego García's legal team accused the government of attempting to smear him without evidence as a 'monster', 'terrorist' and 'barbarian'. Lawyers for Ábrego García argued in a court filing that the government had violated a local rule barring comments that could be prejudicial to a fair trial. 'For months, the government has made extensive and inflammatory extrajudicial comments about Mr Ábrego that are likely to prejudice his right to a fair trial,' Ábrego García's lawyers said in a filing. 'These comments continued unabated – if anything they ramped up – since his indictment in this district, making clear the government's intent to engage in a 'trial by newspaper'.' The US district judge Waverly Crenshaw issued the gag order in a two-sentence ruling. Ábrego García's legal team has accused the government of trying to convict him in the court of public opinion since it acknowledged that it had mistakenly sent him to a prison in El Salvador despite a court order barring the move. 'As Mr Ábrego's plight captured national attention, officials occupying the highest positions of the United States government baselessly labeled him a 'gangbanger', 'monster', 'illegal predator', 'illegal alien terrorist', 'wife beater', 'barbarian' and 'human trafficker,'' the filing said. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion The attorneys singled out the vice-president, JD Vance, who they said had lied when he called Ábrego García a 'convicted MS-13 gang member'. They also said that Trump administration officials had made 20 more public statements about their client when he was arraigned, including in remarks by the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, and the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche. They also said the attorney general, Pam Bondi, accused their client of crimes he hadn't been accused of, including links to a murder case. In sum, the statements had asserted Ábrego García's guilt 'without regard to the judicial process or the presumption of innocence', the filing said. According to the documents filed on Wednesday, officials within the prison acknowledged that Ábrego García was not a gang member, and that his tattoos did not indicate a gang affiliation. 'Prison officials explicitly acknowledged that plaintiff Ábrego García's tattoos were not gang-related, telling him 'your tattoos are fine',' according to the filing, and they kept him in a cell separate from those accused of gang membership. The prison officials, however, threatened to move Ábrego García into a cell with gang members whom officials said 'would 'tear' him apart'. Separately, US prosecutors have agreed with a request by Ábrego García's lawyers to delay his release from Tennessee jail over fears that the Trump administration could move to deport the Salvadorian national a second time. In a filing on Friday, lawyers for Ábrego García asked the judge overseeing a federal complaint that he was involved in human smuggling to delay his release because of 'contradictory statements' by the Trump's administration over whether he'll be deported upon release. The justice department has said it plans to try the Maryland construction worker on the smuggling charges, but also that it plans to deport him but has not said when.
