Kilmar Abrego Garcia says he was tortured, beaten in El Salvador prison

Muri Assunção, New York Daily News on Jul 3, 2025

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Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year, says he was subjected to sleep deprivation, psychological torture and severe beatings during his incarceration at the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, according to a new court filing.

The 29-year-old father — who was arrested on March 12 in Baltimore and later deported due to an “administrative error” by the Trump administration — claims that shortly after exiting the aircraft that flew him to El Salvador on March 15, he was pushed down the stairs by two officers and forced onto a bus, where he was “repeatedly struck by officers when he attempted to raise his head.”

The harrowing details of Abrego García’s detention at the infamous mega-prison were included in an amended complaint filed Wednesday, as part of a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration that was originally filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland in March.

When Abrego García arrived at the maximum-security facility, he says he was kicked in the legs with boots and struck on his head while officers forced him to strip naked and change into prison clothing.

After his head was shaved, he was “frog-marched” to a cell, while being beaten with wooden batons, according to the complaint.

Abrego Garcia also alleges he and 20 other Salvadorans “were forced to kneel from approximately 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., with guards striking anyone who fell from exhaustion.” During that time, he claims he was denied access to a bathroom and soiled himself.

For about four weeks — and before he was transferred to a different facility — Abrego Garcia says he was held in an overcrowded cell with no mattresses or windows and “with bright lights that remained on 24 hours a day,” where he shared “two basins for washing and two open toilets” with other inmates.

Abrego Garcia, who was recently indicted on charges of illegally transporting undocumented immigrants, was brought back to the U.S. on June 6.

His attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, slammed the government’s actions as “an abuse of power, not justice,” accusing the Trump administration of disappearing his client to a foreign prison in violation of a court order.

“Now, after months of delay and secrecy, they’re bringing him back,” he added, “not to correct their error, but to prosecute him.”

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