El Salvador's President refuses to return wrongfully deported Maryland man as Trump nods in agreement despite court order
"I don't have the power to return him to the United States," declared El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, as former President Donald Trump sat beside him, nodding in agreement.
A Controversial Meeting in the Oval Office
The dramatic declaration came during a high-profile meeting between the two leaders at the White House on Monday.
Bukele, who calls himself the "world's coolest dictator," has become a key partner in Trump's controversial deportation initiatives since the former president returned to office.
The meeting quickly turned tense when reporters asked about the fate of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador despite a 2019 court order protecting him.
The Supreme Court's Order
Just last week, the Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return to the United States.
Initially, Trump appeared to respect the ruling, stating on Friday: "If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would tell them to do that. I respect the Supreme Court."
But by Saturday, Trump had changed course dramatically, suggesting that Abrego Garcia's fate now rested entirely with El Salvador and its leader.
Terrorism Allegations Without Evidence
During the Oval Office exchange, Bukele called the idea of returning Abrego Garcia "preposterous."
"How could I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?" he asked, echoing the Trump administration's claims that Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member.
Notably, the administration has presented no public evidence of these allegations in court proceedings.
Abrego Garcia's family and legal team have vehemently denied any gang affiliations.
The CECOT Prison Connection
Following his deportation, which the government attributed to an "administrative error," Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador's infamous CECOT prison.
This maximum-security facility has gained international notoriety for its harsh conditions and treatment of inmates.
Trump has repeatedly expressed admiration for Bukele's tough-on-crime approach and has even suggested sending American citizens convicted of violent crimes to foreign prisons like CECOT.
"I'm all for it," Trump confirmed on Monday. "If it's a homegrown criminal, I have no problem. Now we're studying the laws right now."
The Legal Reality
Attorney Benjamin Osorio, who represents Abrego Garcia, expressed "very serious concerns" about Bukele's refusal to return his client.
Osorio pointed to a troubling political dynamic, saying, "Bukele's doing this because that's obviously what Trump wants, right? Because if they bring [Abrego Garcia] back, it's going to be a media frenzy."
"The United States acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal," the Supreme Court stated explicitly in its ruling.
The Administration's Defiance
Despite the clear language from the Supreme Court, top Trump officials have doubled down on their position that El Salvador has the final say.
"It's up to El Salvador if they want to return him," Attorney General Pam Bondi insisted during the meeting.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio added: "I don't understand what the confusion is. This individual is a citizen of El Salvador. He was illegally in the United States and was returned to his country."
Stephen Miller, Trump's homeland security adviser, went even further, falsely claiming the court ruled 9-0 that "neither Secretary of State nor the president could be compelled by anybody to forcibly retrieve a citizen of El Salvador from El Salvador."
The administration must provide daily status updates on Abrego Garcia to the court, with another hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
As the legal battle continues, Abrego Garcia remains in El Salvador's custody, caught in an unprecedented standoff between the U.S. Supreme Court and two presidents apparently determined to defy its authority.
