The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday announced that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States from El Salvador to face charges in response to a grand jury indictment that accuses him of completing more than 100 trips while smuggling illegal immigrants throughout the country.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the charges in an afternoon press conference, confirming the grand jury returned its indictment on May 21, just weeks after The Tennessee Star was the first to report that Abrego Garcia was suspected of human trafficking by the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) in November 2022, and that his release was ordered by the “Biden-era FBI.”
“Abrego Garcia has landed in the United States to face justice,” said Bondi, stating that a grand jury in the Middle District of Tennessee charged Abrego Garcia with both alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling under Title 8 USC 1324.
In an apparent nod to the Trump administration’s stance that Abrego Garcia could only be returned to the United States by diplomatic means, Bondi expressed gratitude to President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador for agreeing to send him back.
“We want to thank President Bukele for agreeing to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. Our government presented El Salvador with an arrest warrant, and they agreed to return him to our country,” said Bondi. “This is what American justice looks like.”
She added, “Upon completion of his sentence, we anticipate he will be returned to his home country of El Salvador.”
Bondi then specified the grand jury’s findings regarding Abrego Garcia, alleging that the citizen of El Salvador “played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring,” and that his role in the criminal organization constituted “his full time job.”
The attorney general said Abrego Garcia made more than 100 trips over a nine-year career in smuggling individuals, including members of Mara Salvatrucha, the Central American gang in which Abrego Garcia has denied being a member.
“This is especially disturbing because Abrego Garcia is also alleged with transporting minor children,” noted Bondi. “The defendant traded the innocence of minor children for profit.”
Bondi also alleged that Abrego Garcia is a member of the same smuggling ring that operated the tractor-trailer that overturned in Mexico last year, killing over 50 migrants who sought to illegally enter the United States under former President Joe Biden, before claiming Abrego Garcia personally abused both women and children.
“The defendant abused undocumented alien females, according to co-conspirators, who were under his control while transporting them throughout our country,” said Bondi.
She later added, “A co-conspirator alleged that the defendant solicited nude photographs and videos of a minor,” and revealed that a co-conspirator claimed Abrego Garcia “played a role in the murder of a rival gang member’s mother.”
Abrego Garcia was also accused by the grand jury of trafficking firearms and narcotics throughout the United States during multiple of his smuggling trips.
“They were using vehicles, SUVs, with added seats in the back, floors that had been ripped out. Guns, narcotics, children, women, MS-13 members,” said Bondi.
This description of the vehicles driven by the smuggling ring, which Abrego Garcia allegedly belongs to, matches the body-worn camera video given to The Star last month as a result of a freedom of information request.
Notably, while it was reported last month that DOJ officials offered limited immunity to the convicted human smuggler who owned the vehicle driven by Abrego Garcia in 2022, the indictment published by the DOJ on Friday revealed the existence of at least six total co-conspirators who provided information to the grand jury.
According to the indictment, all but one of Abrego Garcia’s co-conspirators are citizens of El Salvador. The remaining co-conspirator is a citizen of Guatemala, where an immigration judge appeared to order that Abrego Garcia could not be deported in 2019.
Watch the full press conference:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Convict him, imprison him then deport him forever!