{"id":844949,"date":"2025-05-01T09:11:17","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T14:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/01\/the-conspiracy-behind-kilmar-abrego-garcias-tattoos-explained\/"},"modified":"2025-05-01T09:11:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T14:11:17","slug":"the-conspiracy-behind-kilmar-abrego-garcias-tattoos-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/01\/the-conspiracy-behind-kilmar-abrego-garcias-tattoos-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"The Conspiracy Behind Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s Tattoos Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Topline<\/h2>\n

President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday a photoshopped image of Kilmar Abrego Garcia\u2014who the administration has admitted was mistakenly deported to El Salvador\u2014proves he was an MS-13 gang member, doubling down on a conspiracy the president promoted earlier this month on social media.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump answers questions from members of the media before boarding Marine One on the … More<\/span> South Lawn of the White House on April 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/fbs-accordion>Getty Images<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Key Facts<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

Trump, in a contentious exchange with ABC News\u2019 Terry Moran, insisted that Moran agree with him that Abrego Garcia<\/a> has \u201cM, S, 1, 3\u201d tattooed above his knuckles, citing an obviously doctored image Trump shared twice on social media earlier this month to prove Abrego Garcia is a member of the gang, despite scant evidence, no criminal record in the U.S. and his lawyers and family members denying any gang affiliation.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

\u201cTerry, do you want me to show you the picture? He had M, S, as clear as you can be, not interpreted,\u201d Trump said as Moran tried to change the subject to Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The claim stems from tattoos Abrego Garcia has on his knuckles that show a marijuana leaf, a smiley face with \u201cx\u201d over the eyes, a cross and a skull\u2014his tattoos do not include the actual \u201cMS-13\u201d stamp, according to an image<\/a> El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted of Abrego Garcia meeting with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in El Salvador.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Some social media users have suggested the marijuana leaf represents \u201cM,\u201d the smiley face represents \u201cS\u201d and the cross and skulls are cover-ups for a \u201c1\u201d and \u201c3,\u201d though Trump seemed to insist during Tuesday\u2019s interview the actual letters and numbers were tattooed on Abrego Garcia\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n

Trump fueled speculation that there could be hidden meaning behind the tattoos when he posted a photo of himself from the Oval Office holding an image of Abrego Garcia\u2019s hand with \u201cM, S, 1, 3\u201d pasted above each knuckle on April 18<\/a> and again on April 21, writing \u201cthis is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White House, when asked if Trump believes Abrego Garcia actually has \u201cM S 1 3\u201d tattooed on his knuckles, said \u201cask any law or immigration enforcement official who\u2019s been on the ground about Kilmar Abrego Garcia\u2019s tattoos: they\u2019re MS-13.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Contra<\/h2>\n

Some gang experts told CBS<\/a> it\u2019s unclear whether Abrego Garcia\u2019s tattoos include any MS-13 symbolism. University of Nevada Assistant Professor Robert Lovato said he spoke to current gang members who said they don\u2019t believe Abrego Garcia\u2019s tattoos represent MS-13. Multiple experts noted that symbols used by gangs in tattoos, such as a skull, are also used by the general public.<\/p>\n

Crucial Quote<\/h2>\n

\u201cThat was photoshopped? Terry, you can\u2019t do that,\u201d Trump said during the ABC special marking his 100th day in office Tuesday. \u201cHe had \u2018MS-13\u2019 tattooed. Terry . . . Terry. Do you want me to show you the picture?\u201d<\/p>\n

Tangent<\/h2>\n

Trump told ABC he \u201ccould\u201d bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S., contradicting government lawyers\u2019 claims that the decision rests with El Salvador.<\/p>\n

Key Background<\/h2>\n

Abrego Garcia was deported in March to El Salvador despite a 2019 court order allowing him to stay in the country after a judge found he could be targeted by gangs if he returned to his home country. He was deported because the document Immigration and Customs Enforcement used to determine the final list of deportees slated for one of the March 15 flights to El Salvador did not note his protected status, an ICE official recently admitted in court. A district court judge ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S., and the Supreme Court said the administration must \u201cfacilitate\u201d his release, but government lawyers have claimed the decision is in El Salvador\u2019s hands since he is a citizen there and in the custody of the Salvadoran government. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, meanwhile, has suggested he can\u2019t return Abrego Garcia without U.S. approval. Trump administration officials have pointed to<\/a> an interview police who detained Abrego Garcia in a Home Depot parking lot in Hyattsville, Maryland, in 2019 conducted with a confidential informant who said Abrego Garcia was a member of the Long Island-based outpost of the gang, despite his lawyers saying he\u2019s never been to New York. The detective also noted in court documents released by the Trump administration that Abrego Garcia was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie with rolls of money covering the eyes, ears and mouth of the presidents\u2019 faces printed on the bills, which the detective said is clothing sometimes affiliated with gang culture.<\/p>\n

Further Reading<\/h2>\n

White House Doubles Down On Erroneous Deportation Of Maryland Dad<\/a> (Forbes)<\/p>\n

Sen. Van Hollen Says Trump Administration Made $15 Million Deal With El Salvador To Imprison Deportees Including Abrego Garcia <\/a>(Forbes)<\/p>\n

Trump Administration Says It Will Simply Re-Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia If He Is Brought Back To U.S.<\/a> (Forbes)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Sara Dorn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Topline President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday a photoshopped image of Kilmar Abrego Garcia\u2014who the administration has admitted was mistakenly deported to El Salvador\u2014proves he was an MS-13 gang member, doubling down on a conspiracy the president promoted earlier this month on social media. President Donald Trump answers questions from members of the media before boarding<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":844950,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1846,276],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-844949","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-behind","8":"category-conspiracy"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=844949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/844950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=844949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=844949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=844949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}