President Trump says Abrego Garcia's tattoos link to MS-13: 'not an innocent, wonderful gentleman from Maryland'

Michelle Deal-Zimmerman, Baltimore Sun on Apr 29, 2025

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In an interview Tuesday marking the first 100 days of his second term, President Donald Trump zeroed in on a topic that has been among the most controversial actions his administration has taken so far: the mistaken deportation of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a prison in El Salvador.

But in the eyes of the president, the mistake is not looking at the evidence that he says shows Abrego Garcia was a gang member who should not have been in the United States.

“The person that you’re talkin’ about, you know, you’re makin’ this person sound — this is a MS-13 gang member, a tough cookie, been in lots of skirmishes, beat the hell out of his wife, and the wife was petrified to even talk about him, okay? This is not an innocent, wonderful gentleman from Maryland … ,” Trump told ABC News correspondent Terry Moran in an interview in the Oval Office.

Trump said those who contend that Abrego Garcia is not a member of a gang can see the evidence for themselves: “On his knuckles, he had MS-13” tattooed.

Trump insists the tattoo is definitive and offers to show Moran a picture of it. In a social media post last week, the president holds a photograph that appears to show Abrego Garcia’s knuckles with MS-13. However, in other photographs, including some family pictures, the tattoo is not visible.

The government’s allegations about Abrego Garcia’s ties to MS-13 hinge on an anonymous tip and information contained in a 2019 police report. Some experts have cast doubt on linking the tattoos to MS-13.

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