{"id":155639,"date":"2025-07-03T16:56:59","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T16:56:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/kilmar-abrego-garcia-suffered-psychological-and-physical-torture-in-el-salvador-prison-attorneys-say-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2025-07-03T16:56:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T16:56:59","slug":"kilmar-abrego-garcia-suffered-psychological-and-physical-torture-in-el-salvador-prison-attorneys-say-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/kilmar-abrego-garcia-suffered-psychological-and-physical-torture-in-el-salvador-prison-attorneys-say-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Kilmar Abrego Garcia suffered psychological and physical torture in El Salvador prison, attorneys say – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Kilmar Abrego Garcia <\/a>was stripped naked, had his head shaved, was beaten, forced to kneel for hours overnight, and lost over 30 pounds during his time at the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador, his attorneys say in a new court filing.
Abrego, of Maryland, was deported to El Salvador in March by the Trump administration in an \u201cadministrative error\u201d and was returned to the U.S. in June <\/a>to face federal charges. At the time of his removal from the U.S., Abrego was protected from deportation by a 2019 court order<\/a>.
His high-profile case was pushed into the national spotlight, sparking a heated debate over Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown and the race to deport people, at times without due process.
Abrego was deported to El Salvador on March 15 and placed into CECOT, a megaprison known for its brutal conditions.
There, he was allegedly subjected to severe beatings, sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition and psychological torture, his attorneys said in an amended complaint filed Wednesday. That complaint is part of a federal lawsuit filed by Abego\u2019s wife against the Trump administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
The complaint states that upon arrival at CECOT, Abrego was forced to strip, issued prison clothing, kicked in the legs with boots and struck on his head and arms to change faster. His head was also allegedly shaved, and he was frog-marched to a cell while being hit with wooden batons.
The following day, he had \u201cvisible bruises and lumps all over his body,\u201d the complaint said.
In that cell, he and 20 other Salvadorans \u201cwere forced to kneel from approximately 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., with guards striking anyone who fell from exhaustion,\u201d the filing said. During that time, Abrego was denied bathroom access and soiled himself, according to the complaint.
The inmates were confined to metal bunks with no mattresses in overcrowded cells without windows and bright lights that stayed on 24 hours a day, the complaint says.
While there, prison officials repeatedly told Abrego that \u201cthey would transfer him to cells containing gang members who, they assured him, would \u2018tear\u2019 him apart,\u201d the complaint says.
The attorneys said Abrego observed prisoners violently harm each other without staff intervention.
\u201cScreams from nearby cells would similarly ring out throughout the night without any response from prison guards or personnel,\u201d the complaint says.
In his first two weeks, he lost 31 pounds.
On April 9, the complaint says, Abrego and four others were transferred to a different module in CECOT. But the next day, he was transferred alone to the Centro Industrial prison facility in Santa Ana, El Salvador.
Throughout his time in El Salvador, his lawyers say, Abrego was denied any communications with his family and access to counsel until Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., visited him on April 17.
The Supreme Court ruled in April that his removal was \u201cillegal\u201d and <\/a>determined that a judge\u2019s order for the administration to facilitate his return was proper.
Abrego was ultimately returned to the U.S. on June 6, following a contentious back-and-forth between the court and the Trump administration that raised concerns about defiance of the judicial branch.
The government has repeatedly accused the 29-year-old of being involved with the gang MS-13 \u2014 claims Abrego\u2019s family and attorneys have denied.
His attorneys say Abrego, who is from El Salvador, left the country when he was around 16 years old to flee gang violence. In 2011, Abrego entered the U.S. without inspection and stayed in Maryland, where his older brother, a U.S. citizen, lived, the complaint said.
In the Wednesday filing, attorneys for the Abrego family ask Judge Paula Xinis to rule that over the course of this entire ordeal \u2014 from the time he was picked up in that Maryland parking lot to when he was returned to the U.S. \u2014 the government violated laws, and his Fifth Amendment right to due process.
They also want Abrego returned to Maryland and separately want a habeas corpus hearing held in Maryland.
When Abrego returned last month, the Justice Department said he would face human smuggling charges in Tennessee. He is accused of transporting people not legally in the U.S. within the country.
He allegedly participated in a conspiracy over nine years to move people from Texas deeper into the country, including members of MS-13, the Trump administration said.
Abrego\u2019s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, has insisted that he was not involved in criminal activity.
\u201cKilmar worked in construction and sometimes transported groups of workers between job sites, so it\u2019s entirely plausible he would have been pulled over while driving with others in the vehicle,\u201d his wife previously said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cHe was not charged with any crime or cited for any wrongdoing\u201d at the time.
The family\u2019s attorney, Chris Newman, previously said the Trump administration\u2019s efforts are part of a \u201ccampaign of disinformation, defamation against Kilmar and his family.\u201d
The federal judge presiding over Abrego’s criminal case in Tennessee ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to comply with local rules prohibiting out-of-court statements that could jeopardize Abrego\u2019s right to a fair trial.
Abrego’s lawyers had asked the court to stop the government from making extrajudicial statements about their client, saying, “From the moment Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia challenged his illegal rendition to El Salvador in March 2025, the government has repeatedly maligned him in public statements.”
\u201cMr. Abrego is entitled to a fair trial \u2018by an impartial jury free from outside influences.\u2019 But he is nearly certain to be denied that right if the government, left to its own devices, stays its current course,” the lawyers added.
Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
Gary Grumbach is a NBC News Legal Affairs Reporter, based in Washington, D.C.
Chloe Atkins reports for the NBC News National Security and Law Unit, based in New York.
© 2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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