Trump vs. Inc.: Does Kilmer Abrego Garcia’s tattoo prove that he is a MS-13 member? , world News
29 -year -old isrebrego Garcia came to America illegally from Al Salvador around 2011
President Donald Trump has pointed to four tattoos on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s Nuckles-Ek Marijuana leaf, a smiley face, a cross and a skull-as a definite proof that Maryland man is a member of an MS-13 gang that should not be returned to the United States.
But law enforcement officers, gang researchers and lawyers of Abrego Garcia argue that tattoos do not confirm any gang affiliation – and they were never considered evidence in court or immigration proceedings. Experts have also noted that the use of tattoos as gang identities has been in decline for years, especially within MS -13.
John Cololelo, Los Angeles County District for Attorney Office, where MS -13 originated in the 1980s, said that tattoos alone could not serve as the only basis to determine the membership of the gang, without additional reference.
Trump on Tuesday reiterated his tattoo claim during an interview with ABC News, urging the public to look at Ebrego Garcia’s hand and stating that it could be “clear” that it was MS -13. His administration also broadcast an image online, alleging that the tattoo wrote “MS -1 -3”.
However, experts made by Washington Post dismissed the claim. While some admitted that individual elements such as marijuana leaf were seen on gang members, no one had recognized the complete combination or system as an indication of MS -13.
Insight Crime’s co -director and MS -13 author Steven Doodley: The Making of America’s most notorious gang said the pattern was not known and argued that focusing on it missed a widespread issue. He insisted that tattoos could not determine gang affiliation alone and, even if they could, such perceptions did not deny the right to the fixed process.
A arrest constructed on thin evidence
Abrego Garcia was detained in a home depot parking in Maryland in 2019, where he and three others gathered in search of work. The arrest began with a local officer and when a gang detective, Ivan Mendez recognized Garcia as a possible MS -13 member. Mendez allegedly based on this assessment on Garcia’s clothes – including the Chicago Bulls Cap – and anonymous informer. The tattoo was not mentioned as part of this evaluation.
Mendez later faced allegations of misconduct in an unrelated case, including allegations that he provided discover information to a sex worker.
Although in 2019, an immigration judge ordered that Abrego Garcia had not been deported, the Trump administration violated the instruction and sent it back to Al Salvador. His case has since become central for a legal and political deadlock as to whether the US will have to return them.
“They thought the tattoos were cool”
According to his lawyers, Abrego Garcia never vested that his tattoo had any importance of a gang. In 2019, he told his lawyer that the tattoo was selected for personal reasons – a star on his elbow to represent the Dallas Cowboys, a heartbeat design near his wrist that corresponded to a tattoo of an ex -girlfriend, and the nucking images only because he liked how he looked.
His wife, Jennifer Vaskes Sura told the post that he felt the tattoos were “quiet”. His lawyer, Lucia Curial, indicated that the tattoo was not even brought to court until Trump started citing him publicly. Another lawyer in the case, Simon Sandoval-Moshaneberg, said the tattoos were irrelevant-and remained the same.
Expert: Tattoo is not the same crime
Experts have consistently warned that it is flawed and old to draw conclusions about gang affiliation based on body art. They note that members of MS -13, especially younger people have defended to avoid tattoos to avoid rapid tattoos. Suffolk County Prosecutor Raymond Tireni, who has handled MS-13 cases since the beginning of 2010, reported that the tattoo has become less common and more prudent.
A security analyst Jeannet Aguiller, a security analyst in L Salavador, highlighted an intense contradiction in the government’s claim. After the al -Salvador was deported, Abrego Garcia was initially held at the country’s notorious terrorism imprisonment center. But later he was shifted to Santa Ana-a semi-shock penitentary, especially without gang affiliation for prisoners.
Aguler commented that if Abrego Garcia was actually a member of MS -13, he would never have been placed in that feature. He also reported that the Salvadoran neighborhood where he grew up was under the control of Bario 18, a rival gang for MS -13. His family, he noted, fled to America to escape the dangers from Bario 18, which was not more likely that he would join MS -13 after reaching the US.
A manufactured crisis
Despite this, some Trump supporters have continued to defend the tattoo story. Former Reform Officer Leandro Palino estimated that the skull could be a symbolic reference to the “3” number, as the craneo begins with the third letter of the Spanish alphabet. However, other-writer Roberto Lovato, including the current and former gang members, found no one who recognized the symbols as MS-13 code.
Dudley criticized the administration’s attention on the tattoo, saying it was distracted by a high pressure issue: the government exiled someone in a direct violation of a judge’s order.
Even though Abrego Garcia has a gang relationship – and no court has established that he does – he was entitled to the legal appropriate process. Instead, his case has become a political spectacle, his life was suspended between Washington, a Salvadoron Gel and the White House, which intends to defend its immigration crack.
