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Wrongfully Deported Maryland Man Alleges Torture in Salvadoran Mega-Prison

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Updated Jul 3, 2025, 01:19 PM

A newly amended complaint filed in federal court in Maryland alleges that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was beaten, deprived of sleep and subjected to psychological torture during nearly three weeks at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) after U.S. immigration officers wrongfully deported him in March. The filing says the 29-year-old Maryland resident lost 31 pounds in his first two weeks at the high-security complex, which holds suspected gang members.

According to the document, guards kicked Abrego Garcia, forced him and about 20 other detainees to kneel for roughly nine hours overnight, kept bright lights on around the clock and denied him bathroom access, causing him to soil himself. Officers also threatened to place him with gang inmates yet reportedly conceded that his tattoos were not gang-related.

Abrego Garcia was put on a flight to El Salvador on 15 March after immigration agents revoked his supervised release without a warrant. On 10 April the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” his return; the Justice Department flew him back on 6 June. One week later, on 13 June, he pleaded not guilty in a Nashville federal courtroom to charges of conspiring to transport undocumented migrants following a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee.

He remains in U.S. custody while a magistrate judge decides whether to release him pending trial. His lawyers, calling the indictment a pretext to justify the erroneous deportation, are asking the Maryland court to block any future removal, arguing that he could face renewed persecution or torture abroad. The Department of Homeland Security, which maintains he is linked to the MS-13 gang, has said the government intends to deport him to an unspecified third country once the criminal case concludes.

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#Maryland #Kilmar Abrego Garcia #Abrego Garcia #El Salvador #Trump #Justice Department #Nashville #Tennessee #Department of Homeland Security #MS

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Sources

reuters.com(4)politico.com(4)voz.us(4)cnnespanol.cnn.com(3)

12NewsNow

@12NewsNow

Abrego Garcia was living in Maryland when he was mistakenly deported and became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

azfamily 3TV CBS 5

@azfamily

Kilmar Abrego Garcia said he suffered severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation and psychological torture in the notorious El Salvador prison the Trump administration had deported him to in March, according to court documents filed Wednesday.