El Salvador president denies that Abrego Garcia was tortured in prison
FILE PHOTO: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who lived in the U.S. legally with a work permit and was erroneously deported to El Salvador, is seen wearing a Chicago Bulls hat, in this handout image obtained by Reuters on April 9, 2025. Abrego Garcia Family/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT./File Photo
WASHINGTON - El Salvador President Nayib Bukele on Thursday denied accusations that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the migrant returned to the U.S. in early June after being wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador, was tortured in a Salvadoran prison.
In a court filing in the U.S. on Wednesday, Abrego Garcia gave a first-hand description of his experience at the Salvadoran high-security prison CECOT and reported severe mistreatment.
His lawyers said he lost 31 pounds (14 kg) in his first two weeks there and was "subjected to severe mistreatment upon arrival at CECOT, including but not limited to severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition, and psychological torture."
Bukele disputed that in a social media post on Thursday.
"But the man wasn't tortured, nor did he lose weight," Bukele said. "If he'd been tortured, sleep-deprived, and starved, why does he look so well in every picture?"
Bukele's post included pictures and video of Abrego Garcia in detention.
A Maryland resident whose wife and young child are U.S. citizens, Abrego Garcia was deported from the U.S. on March 15 to El Salvador, despite a 2019 immigration court ruling that he not be sent there because he could be persecuted by gangs. Officials called his removal an "administrative error."
Critics of U.S. President Donald Trump pointed to the case as evidence his administration was prioritizing increased deportations over due process - the principle that people in the U.S., whether citizens or not, can contest governmental actions against them in courts.
Trump has pledged to crack down on illegal immigration and says Abrego Garcia belongs to the MS-13 gang, an accusation his lawyers deny.
The Justice Department brought Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. on June 6 after securing an indictment charging him with working with at least five co-conspirators as part of a smuggling ring to bring immigrants to the U.S. illegally.
He has pleaded not guilty and the government says it plans to deport him again. He is currently detained in Tennessee while his criminal case is pending. REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
33 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Israeli military prepares plan to ensure Iran cannot threaten Israel, defence minister says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military must be prepared, both in intelligence and operations. DUBAI - The Israeli military is preparing an enforcement plan to 'ensure that Iran cannot return to threaten Israel', Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz told senior military officials. He said the military must be prepared, both in intelligence and operations, to ensure Israel has air superiority and to prevent Tehran from reestablishing its previous capabilities. He made his remarks following a 12-day air war between the longtime enemies in June, during which Israel struck Iranian nuclear facilities, saying the aim was to prevent Tehran developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear arms and that its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes.
Straits Times
38 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Under pressure, Hezbollah weighs scaling back its arsenal
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo BEIRUT - Hezbollah has begun a major strategic review in the wake of its devastating war with Israel, including considering scaling back its role as an armed movement without disarming completely, three sources familiar with the deliberations say. The internal discussions, which aren't yet finalised and haven't previously been reported, reflect the formidable pressures the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group has faced since a truce was reached in late November. Israeli forces continue to strike areas where the group holds sway, accusing Hezbollah of ceasefire violations, which it denies. It is also grappling with acute financial strains, U.S. demands for its disarmament and diminished political clout since a new cabinet took office in February with U.S. support. The group's difficulties have been compounded by seismic shifts in the regional power balance since Israel decimated its command, killed thousands of its fighters and destroyed much of its arsenal last year. Hezbollah's Syrian ally, Bashar al-Assad, was toppled in December, severing a key arms supply line from Iran. Tehran is now emerging from its own bruising war with Israel, raising doubts over how much aid it can offer, a regional security source and a senior Lebanese official told Reuters. Another senior official, who is familiar with Hezbollah's internal deliberations, said the group had been holding clandestine discussions on its next steps. Small committees have been meeting in person or remotely to discuss issues including its leadership structure, political role, social and development work, and weapons, the official said on condition of anonymity. The official and two other sources familiar with the discussions indicated Hezbollah has concluded that the arsenal it had amassed to deter Israel from attacking Lebanon had become a liability. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump says countries to start paying tariffs on Aug 1, floats range of 10% to 70% Singapore Sengkang murder: Man accused of killing elderly mother escorted back to crime scene Singapore Tourism bump from Lady Gaga concerts raked in up to estimated $150m for Singapore economy Singapore Jail for man who recruited 2 Japanese women for prostitution at MBS Asia Malaysia dismantles ISIS network involving workers from Bangladesh Asia Manila's mayor returns to office to face mountains of rubbish Asia Chinese national missing in Thailand rescued, embassy warns of shady job offers Business Central banks tweak US dollar reserves, with euro and gold gaining ground: UBS survey Hezollah "had an excess of power," the official said. "All that strength turned into a weak point." Under the leadership of Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed last year, Hezbollah grew into a regional military player with tens of thousands of fighters, rockets and drones poised to strike Israel. It also provided support to allies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Israel came to regard Hezbollah as a significant threat. When the group opened fire in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in 2023, Israel responded with airstrikes in Lebanon that escalated into a ground offensive. Hezbollah has since relinquished a number of weapons depots in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese armed forces as stipulated in last year's truce, though Israel says it has struck military infrastructure there still linked to the group. Hezbollah is now considering turning over some weapons it has elsewhere in the country - notably missiles and drones seen as the biggest threat to Israel - on condition Israel withdraws from the south and halts its attacks, the sources said. But the group won't surrender its entire arsenal, the sources said. For example, it intends to keep lighter arms and anti-tank missiles, they said, describing them as a means to resist any future attacks. Hezbollah's media office did not respond to questions for this article. Isreal's military said it would continue operating along its northern border in accordance with the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, in order eliminate any threat and protect Israeli citizens. The U.S. State Department declined to comment on private diplomatic conversations, referring questions to Lebanon's government. Lebanon's presidency did not respond to questions. For Hezbollah to preserve any military capabilities would fall short of Israeli and U.S. ambitions. Under the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and France, Lebanon's armed forces were to confiscate "all unauthorized arms", beginning in the area south of the Litani River - the zone closest to Israel. Lebanon's government also wants Hezbollah to surrender the rest of its weapons as it works to establish a state monopoly on arms. Failure to do so could stir tensions with the group's Lebanese rivals, which accuse Hezbollah of leveraging its military might to impose its will in state affairs and repeatedly dragging Lebanon into conflicts. All sides have said they remain committed to the ceasefire, even as they traded accusations of violations. PART OF HEZBOLLAH'S 'DNA' Arms have been central to Hezbollah's doctrine since it was founded by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to fight Israeli forces who invaded Lebanon in 1982, at the height of the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war. Tensions over the Shi'ite Muslim group's arsenal sparked another, brief civil conflict in 2008. The United States and Israel deem Hezbollah a terrorist group. Nicholas Blanford, who wrote a history of Hezbollah, said that in order to reconstitute itself, the group would have to justify its retention of weapons in an increasingly hostile political landscape, while addressing damaging intelligence breaches and ensuring its long-term finances. "They've faced challenges before, but not this number simultaneously," said Blanford, a fellow with the Atlantic Council, a U.S. think tank. A European official familiar with intelligence assessments said there was a lot of brainstorming underway within Hezbollah about its future but no clear outcomes. The official described Hezbollah's status as an armed group as part of its DNA, saying it would be difficult for it to become a purely political party. Nearly a dozen sources familiar with Hezbollah's thinking said the group wants to keep some arms, not only in case of future threats from Israel, but also because it is worried that Sunni Muslim jihadists in neighbouring Syria might exploit lax security to attack eastern Lebanon, a Shi'ite-majority region. Despite the catastrophic results of the latest war with Israel - tens of thousands of people were left homeless and swathes of the south and Beirut's southern suburbs were destroyed - many of Hezbollah's core supporters want it to remain armed. Um Hussein, whose son died fighting for Hezbollah, cited the threat still posed by Israel and a history of conflict with Lebanese rivals as reasons to do so. "Hezbollah is the backbone of the Shi'ites, even if it is weak now," she said, asking to be identified by a traditional nickname because members of her family still belong to Hezbollah. "We were a weak, poor group. Nobody spoke up for us." Hezbollah's immediate priority is tending to the needs of constituents who bore the brunt of the war, the sources familiar with its deliberations said. In December, Secretary General Naim Qassem said Hezbollah had paid more than $50 million to affected families with more than $25 million still to hand out. But there are signs that its funds are running short. One Beirut resident said he had paid for repairs to his apartment in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs after it was damaged in the war only to see the entire block destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in June. "Everyone is scattered and homeless. No one has promised to pay for our shelter," said the man, who declined to be identified for fear his complaints might jeopardise his chances of receiving compensation. He said he had received cheques from Hezbollah but was told by the group's financial institution, Al-Qard Al-Hassan, that it did not have funds available to cash them. Reuters could not immediately reach the institution for comment. Other indications of financial strain have included cutbacks to free medications offered by Hezbollah-run pharmacies, three people familiar with the operations said. SQUEEZING HEZBOLLAH FINANCES Hezbollah has put the onus on Lebanon's government to secure reconstruction funding. But Foreign Minister Youssef Raji, a Hezbollah critic, has said there will be no aid from foreign donors until the state establishes a monopoly on arms. A State Department spokesperson said in May that, while Washington was engaged in supporting sustainable reconstruction in Lebanon, "this cannot happen without Hezbollah laying down their arms". Israel has also been squeezing Hezbollah's finances. The Israeli military said on June 25 that it had killed an Iranian official who oversaw hundreds of millions of dollars in transfers annually to armed groups in the region, as well as a man in southern Lebanon who ran a currency exchange business that helped get some of these funds to Hezbollah. Iran did not comment at the time, and its U.N. mission did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters. Since February, Lebanon has barred commercial flights between Beirut and Tehran, after Israel's military accused Hezbollah of using civilian aircraft to bring in money from Iran and threatened to take action to stop this. Lebanese authorities have also tightened security at Beirut airport, where Hezbollah had free rein for years, making it harder for the group to smuggle in funds that way, according to an official and a security source familiar with airport operations. Such moves have fuelled anger among Hezbollah's supporters towards the administration led by President Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam, who was made prime minister against Hezbollah's wishes. Alongside its Shi'ite ally, the Amal Movement, Hezbollah swept local elections in May, with many seats uncontested. The group will be seeking to preserve its dominance in legislative elections next year. Nabil Boumonsef, deputy editor-in-chief of Lebanon's Annahar newspaper, said next year's poll was part of an "existential battle" for Hezbollah. "It will use all the means it can, firstly to play for time so it doesn't have to disarm, and secondly to make political and popular gains," he said. REUTERS
Straits Times
38 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Gladbach midfielder Neuhaus suspended from first team for 'unacceptable' video
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Borussia Moenchengladbach midfielder Florian Neuhaus has been fined and banished from the first team after being filmed while appearing to mock the Bundesliga club's sporting director. In a video posted on social media, Neuhaus could be seen talking to several people wearing Gladbach kits about sporting director Roland Virkus. The 28-year-old appeared to call Virkus "the worst manager in the world" and referenced the sporting director's role in deciding his salary of four million euros ($4.71 million) per year. Gladbach said they had imposed a "heavy" fine on Neuhaus and suspended him from training with the first team for four weeks, with German daily Bild reporting the fine was worth around 100,000 euros. "The behaviour and statements of Florian Neuhaus are damaging to the club and unacceptable," Gladbach's CEO Stefan Stegemann said in a statement on Thursday. "He has damaged the club with his words and deeply disappointed the people involved, which is not compatible with the values of the club." Neuhaus joined Gladbach in 2017 and has made over 200 appearances in all competitions for the club, but mainly featured as a substitute last season and played just 17 times in the league as they finished 10th. REUTERS Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump says countries to start paying tariffs on Aug 1, floats range of 10% to 70% Singapore Sengkang murder: Man accused of killing elderly mother escorted back to crime scene Singapore Tourism bump from Lady Gaga concerts raked in up to estimated $150m for Singapore economy Singapore Jail for man who recruited 2 Japanese women for prostitution at MBS Asia Malaysia dismantles ISIS network involving workers from Bangladesh Asia Manila's mayor returns to office to face mountains of rubbish Asia Chinese national missing in Thailand rescued, embassy warns of shady job offers Business Central banks tweak US dollar reserves, with euro and gold gaining ground: UBS survey
