Bukele’s Prison Video Mocks Abrego Garcia’s Torture Claims in Deportation Drama

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has unleashed a slick video montage showcasing Kilmar Abrego Garcia living it up in prison—gardening, kicking a soccer ball, even fishing—hardly the picture of a tortured detainee. The footage, posted on X, is Bukele’s bold rebuttal to Abrego Garcia’s claims of brutal beatings, sleep deprivation, and psychological torment while locked up in El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) and later a Santa Ana facility.

Abrego Garcia, deported from the U.S. in March 2025 after a controversial Trump administration ruling, alleged in court filings that he was beaten with batons, forced to kneel for hours, and threatened with violence from gang members. He claimed to have lost 31 pounds in just two weeks at CECOT. Yet Bukele’s video paints a different story: Abrego Garcia playing chess, working out, and lounging in front of a widescreen TV, looking healthy and bruise-free. "If he was tortured, why does he look so well? Why no bruises, no dark circles?" Bukele quipped on X, even suggesting the man gained weight.

The saga stems from Abrego Garcia’s deportation from Maryland, where he lived illegally, accused by the Trump administration of MS-13 gang ties, human trafficking, and domestic abuse. His case became a flashpoint for Democrats opposing mass deportations. Meanwhile, Bukele’s aggressive anti-gang crackdown, detaining over 1% of El Salvador’s population, has slashed the nation’s homicide rate from a staggering 103 per 100,000 in 2015 to 1.9 in 2024—a feat that’s earned him both praise and criticism amid reports of prison deaths and human rights abuses.

Bukele didn’t hold back, slamming the "crumbling Western judiciary" and mainstream media for swallowing Abrego Garcia’s claims without scrutiny. Whether the video is a masterclass in spin or a genuine exposé, it’s classic Bukele: bold, provocative, and unapologetic.