The wife of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia — the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador’s mega-prison — has spoken out in an emotional televised plea, as questions mount over the U.S. government’s failure to act.
Garcia, who had been living in the U.S. since around 2011, was mistakenly deported last month to El Salvador’s Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT) — a prison widely known for its extreme conditions and dubbed the “world’s worst prison.”
While Garcia had entered the country illegally, a 2019 U.S. immigration judge ruled he should be allowed to stay, due to credible threats from gangs in his home country. Despite that, he was mistakenly deported under a new mass deportation policy reactivated by former President Donald Trump and recently approved by the Supreme Court.
The court has since ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” Garcia’s return — but efforts have stalled after Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele appeared unwilling to cooperate.
When pressed by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in the Oval Office about whether El Salvador would allow Garcia to return to the U.S., Bukele responded sharply:
“I hope you’re not suggesting that I smuggle a terrorist into the United States. Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.”
He added, “We just turned the murder capital of the world into the safest country in the Western Hemisphere. And now you want us to start releasing criminals again?”
Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Stefania Vasquez Sura, delivered a heartbreaking statement on live television. Holding back tears, she said:
“I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive. Kilmar, if you can hear me, stay strong. God hasn’t forgotten about you. Our children are asking when you will come home… they miss their dad so much.”
Meanwhile, District Judge Paula Xinis, who is overseeing the case, said Tuesday (April 15) she has yet to receive any update from the administration. She expressed frustration, stating:
“I’ve gotten nothing. I’ve gotten no real response, and no real legal justification for not answering.”
She is now considering whether to begin contempt proceedings against the Trump administration.