The Trump administration trapped a wrongly deported man in a catch-22

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

The Trump administration trapped a wrongly deported man in a catch-22

The US says it can’t aid in his return as he’s in El Salvador; El Salvador says to help would be like ‘smuggling’ him back

Andrew Roth
Global affairs correspondent
Mon 14 Apr 2025 20.43 BST
Last modified on Tue 15 Apr 2025 14.21 BST

It is difficult to find a term more fitting for the fate of the Maryland father Kilmar Abrego García than Kafkaesque.

Abrego García is one of hundreds of foreign-born men deported under the Trump administration to the Cecot mega-prison in El Salvador as part of a macabre partnership with the self-declared “world’s coolest dictator”, Nayib Bukele.

The US government has admitted it deported Abrego García by mistake. But instead of “facilitating” his return as ordered by the supreme court, the administration has trapped Abrego García in a catch-22 by offshoring his fate to a jurisdiction beyond the reach of legality – or, it would seem, basic logic or common decency.

The paradox is this: the Trump administration says it cannot facilitate the return of Abrego García because he is in a prison in El Salvador. El Salvador says it cannot return him because that would be tantamount to “smuggling” him into the US.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/14/abrego-garcia-trump-administration-el-salvador-nayib-bukele