By Katie Hawkinson
El Salvador鈥檚 President Nayib Bukele has disputed claims that Kilmar Abrego Garcia experienced 鈥渟evere mistreatment鈥 and 鈥渢orture鈥 while he was held in Salvadoran custody.
This week, Abrego Garcia鈥檚 attorneys said the 29-year-old was subject to 鈥渟evere beatings, severe sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition, and psychological torture鈥 while he was held in a notorious, maximum-security prison known as CECOT. Abrego Garcia was sent there in March after the Trump administration wrongfully deported him.
Now, Bukele says Abrego Garcia 鈥渨asn鈥檛 tortured, nor did he lose weight.鈥
Bukele wrote: 鈥淚f he鈥檇 been 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?鈥
Bukele included a three-and-a-half-minute video of what he said was Abrego Garcia in custody. The clips appear to show Abrego Garcia doing various activities, including speaking with his cellmate, eating, working at a fish farm and holding a parrot as part of a 鈥渕ental wellness activity.鈥
Salvadoran officials say Abrego Garcia was held in two facilities while in custody: CECOT and a second, lower-security detention center known as Centro Industrial. The video appears to show Abrego Garcia in the lower-security detention center.
Abrego Garcia鈥檚 attorneys say he was brutally beaten at CECOT. Prison employees hit him 鈥渨ith wooden batons鈥 when he first arrived, his lawyers wrote in their recent filing. The next day, 鈥淎brego Garcia had visible bruises and lumps all over his body,鈥 they said.
Abrego Garcia鈥檚 attorneys said he was forced to share a cell with 20 other Salvadorans. They were all 鈥渇orced to kneel鈥 from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., 鈥渨ith guards striking anyone who fell from exhaustion,鈥 the complaint states.
鈥淒uring this time, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was denied bathroom access and soiled himself,鈥 his lawyers wrote. 鈥淭he detainees 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.鈥
Abrego Garcia lost 31 pounds while in custody, his lawyers added.
Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally at 16 years old after fleeing El Salvador. Before he was deported, he was living and working in Maryland with his wife and children.
Lawyers for the Trump administration admitted the government wrongfully deported Abrego Garcia. But the administration launched a weeks-long legal battle to keep him in El Salvador soon afterward.
The Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to 鈥渇acilitate鈥 Abrego Garcia鈥檚 return in April. He was returned to the U.S. in June after a grand jury indicted him on charges related to illegally transporting immigrants across the country.
Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty.