Bukele says El Salvador will not release man deported by Trump administration in error

Ábrego García was sent to a mega-prison despite court protection against deportation.

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El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said on Monday that he will not return Kilmar Ábrego García, a Maryland resident wrongly deported by the Trump administration, despite a US Supreme Court order directing the government to facilitate his return.

Ábrego García, a Venezuelan national married to a US citizen and protected from deportation since 2019, was mistakenly removed from the United States last month and sent to El Salvador, where he is now being held in the country’s maximum-security mega-prison known as Cecot.

Bukele made the announcement during a high-profile Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, saying El Salvador would not hand Ábrego García back. “The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” Bukele told reporters, echoing Trump’s claim that Ábrego García is a member of the MS-13 gang. His lawyers deny the allegation, calling it baseless and politically motivated.

 

 

 

 

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Despite the Supreme Court's ruling last week that the administration must “facilitate and effectuate” the return of Ábrego García, the Trump administration insists it cannot comply. US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the government could provide a plane, but that the final decision lies with El Salvador. DHS officials argued in court filings that “the US does not have the authority to forcibly extract an alien from the custody of a foreign sovereign.”

Legal scholars, however, contend that the administration is sidestepping the order. “It’s very obvious they could get him released if they wanted to,” said constitutional law professor Ilya Somin. Critics say the Trump administration is leveraging its alliance with Bukele to sidestep judicial rulings and pursue mass deportations with limited legal oversight.

Ábrego García was among over 260 migrants – including Venezuelans and Salvadorans – deported to El Salvador under an agreement with Bukele that the Trump administration has promoted as a model for regional security cooperation. As part of the deal, El Salvador is reportedly receiving $20,000 per detainee annually, with the most recent transfers valued at over $6 million.

The controversial policy has come under scrutiny due to Cecot’s harsh conditions. The facility, built in 2022 as part of Bukele’s “war on gangs,” has been condemned by human rights groups for mass detentions, lack of due process, and alleged abuse. Migrants sleep on metal bunks in overcrowded, windowless cells with minimal water access and no legal representation.

In Washington, Trump praised Bukele’s efforts and suggested expanding deportations, even of violent US citizens, to El Salvador. “We have homegrown criminals who are absolute monsters,” Trump said. “I’d like to include them in the group… but we’ll have to look at the laws.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated that foreign policy is under the president’s control, not the courts. “The foreign policy of the United States is conducted by the president of the United States, not by a court,” he said, responding to the Supreme Court’s order.

Ábrego García’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a US citizen, has denounced both administrations for “playing political games” with her husband’s life. “For our children, our family, and all immigrants fighting for loved ones—Kilmar, we will not stop fighting for you,” she said.

A federal hearing is set for Tuesday, where Judge Paula Xinis may press the administration on whether it is actively impeding Ábrego García’s release. The administration’s actions have raised concerns among legal observers that it is effectively defying judicial authority under the guise of foreign policy.