Migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was illegally deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, reported being tortured in the Central American country’s mega-prison for gang members, according to court documents released Thursday.

RELATED: Kilmar Abrego García Returns to U.S. to Face Criminal Charges for Alleged Migrant Trafficking

Abrego, a Salvadoran national, endured beatings, sleep deprivation, and malnutrition, among other forms of torture inflicted by his jailers at the Center for Confinement of Terrorism (Cecot), his lawyers outlined in a filing before a Maryland court in the United States.

According to him, he was subjected to “both physical and psychological torture, including beatings, sleep deprivation, extreme overcrowding, poor nutrition, threats, and constant exposure to bright lights.” The detainees were “forced to stay on their knees” for several hours during both day and night, and guards beat anyone who collapsed from exhaustion. The cells where they were confined had the lights on 24 hours a day, and the bunks did not have mattresses. Furthermore, Abrego Garcia was denied access to a bathroom, forcing him to soil himself, and was subjected to continuous humiliation and threats from the guards.

Due to poor and insufficient nutrition, Abrego lost 14 kilograms during the two weeks he was held at Cecot, before being transferred to another Salvadoran prison amid intense media pressure generated by his case in the United States.

Despite the Supreme Court ordering his return to U.S. territory on the grounds that his deportation was illegal, the White House and the Bukele’s regime refused for months to facilitate his return, claiming—without evidence—that Abrego is a dangerous member of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang.

However, his return took place on June 6 after U.S. prosecutors secured charges against Abrego García in a Tennessee court for human trafficking, stemming from his 2022 arrest while driving a vehicle carrying undocumented migrants.

Abrego is currently detained in a Nashville prison. He has pleaded not guilty, and his defense claims that he is being persecuted by the U.S. government to cover up the mistake made in deporting him to El Salvador. Although a judge ordered his release pending trial, his lawyers have requested that he remain in federal custody, fearing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intends to arrest and deport him to a country other than El Salvador once he is released.

The 30 years old man entered the United States irregularly in 2012 as a minor and settled in Maryland, where he met his wife and started a family. This is the first time Abrego Garcia has shared details of his experience at Cecot, where he was sent last March along with a group of Venezuelan and Salvadoran migrants, despite having a U.S. court order protecting him from deportation to his home country.

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