El Salvador’s president refuses to return man wrongly deported by US, sparks global debate
On Monday, April 14, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele made headlines after declaring he would not return Kilmar Abrego Garcia — a man the U.S. Justice Department admitted was mistakenly deported to the Central American country.
Speaking during a press briefing alongside former U.S. President Donald Trump, Bukele dismissed the idea of sending Garcia back to the U.S., calling the suggestion “preposterous.”
“How can I return him to the United States? Like if I smuggle him into the United States?” Bukele asked reporters.
“Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.”
When asked if Garcia would be released in El Salvador, Bukele gave an icy response:
“We’re not very fond of releasing terrorists.”
Standing beside him, Trump chimed in with his own sharp remark, saying of the journalists present:
“They’d love to have a criminal released into our country. These are sick people.”
However, court filings reveal that Garcia has never been charged with any crime — neither in the United States nor in El Salvador — raising serious concerns about how and why he was deported in the first place, and why he is now being referred to as a “terrorist.”
The situation is quickly drawing attention from human rights advocates and legal experts, who are demanding clarification from both governments and urging proper treatment for Garcia, who appears to be caught in a diplomatic and political tug-of-war.
