President Donald Trump engaged in a contentious exchange with ABC News correspondent Terry Moran regarding Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador despite possessing a court order that was meant to prevent his deportation.
During an interview that aired on April 29, 2023, Trump referenced an image he had posted on his Truth Social platform on April 18, which he claimed showed Abrego Garcia’s tattoo.
The image depicted a left hand adorned with four tattoos, featuring a marijuana leaf, a smiley face with ‘X’ for eyes, a cross, and a skull.
Above these tattoos were the printed figures “M,” “S,” “1,” and “3,” while descriptive text accompanied the pictorial tattoos below in a smaller typeface.
Trump insisted that Abrego Garcia’s hand clearly displayed the letters representing the MS-13 gang, but Moran disputed this assertion, suggesting that such a reading was open to interpretation.
Trump firmly asserted, “Don’t do that. M, S, one, three, it says M, S, one, three.”
Moran countered the claim, stating that the image had been altered or “photoshopped.”
Despite Moran’s attempts to shift the conversation towards a question about Ukraine, Trump persisted, claiming, “He’s got ‘MS13’ on his knuckles.”
The discussion delved deeper than merely the impression Trump conveyed when he shared the image, as he maintained that the alleged tattoo served as evidence for Abrego Garcia’s deportation.
When inquired about this matter, a White House spokesperson suggested that law enforcement or immigration officials on the ground could link Abrego Garcia’s tattoos to MS-13 gang affiliation.
However, recent photographs of Abrego Garcia’s hand, including one taken by Salvadoran government officials on April 17 when he met Senator Chris Van Hollen Jr., show no evidence of the letters or figures Trump described.
Additionally, the tattoos did not appear in a family photo shared by immigration advocates.
Experts on MS-13 informed PolitiFact that none of the tattoos visible in the photograph are recognized symbols of the gang.
Trump’s administration deported Abrego Garcia on March 15 to CECOT, a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador.
The administration had argued that Abrego Garcia was an MS-13 gang member, a claim he and his lawyers vehemently denied in court documents.
These individuals were deported without due process, as the government presented no evidence before a judge to substantiate their gang affiliation, leaving the migrants without an opportunity to defend themselves.
According to a report by The New York Times, most of the 238 men deported to El Salvador lacked both criminal records in the U.S. and documented links to a gang in a Venezuelan prison.
The case against Abrego Garcia surfaced during an arrest in March 2019, during which a police informant alleged he was linked to MS-13, based on a report known as a “gang field interview sheet.”
Initially, a judge found the government’s evidence credible and upheld it on appeal; however, subsequent rulings by two federal judges determined that the evidence was unsupported.
This evidence relied on the clothing Abrego Garcia wore at his arrest and information sourced from a now-terminated police officer’s confidential informant.
Abrego Garcia’s legal team has claimed that the allegations of gang membership were baseless fabrications.
Despite their efforts to overturn his deportation, the government contended that it could not take further action since he had left U.S. jurisdiction.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government was required to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release, and according to recent news reports, he was subsequently moved to a lower-security prison.
Regarding the tattoos showcased in the controversial photograph, experts in gang culture indicated that symbols like marijuana leaves, crosses, and skulls are not solely associated with gang identity and are often found among individuals regardless of gang affiliation.
Liliana Castaneda Rossmann, a professor emerita at California State University San Marcos and author of “Transcending Gangs: Latinas Story Their Experience,” remarked, “I don’t believe a dangerous individual would have such anodyne and farcically generic tattoos on his hand.”
Sean Kennedy, a former federal public defender and now a professor at Loyola Law School, also expressed skepticism regarding the tattoos’ connection to MS-13 based on his experience with gang members.
He stated, “The tattoos in the photo don’t look familiar to me,” noting that Abrego Garcia’s designs strayed from typical MS-13 tattoos.
Kennedy clarified that within MS-13 culture, tattoos like the ones displayed would likely be discouraged and could even be interpreted as indicative of cowardice, contrary to the gang’s demand for strong demonstrations of loyalty.
Charles Katz, who directs Arizona State University’s Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety, shared his opinion that while local law enforcement may have insights into specific tattoos, he had never encountered designs associated with MS-13 matching those shown in the photograph.
Experts agree that tattoos can serve as one aspect of identifying gang members when coupled with other evidence.
However, David M. Kennedy, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who studies gang dynamics, emphasized that tattoos alone are not considered conclusive proof of gang affiliation, particularly in cases where they can be interpreted in multiple ways, such as symbols of personal transformation or cultural significance.
In summary, President Trump’s assertion that Abrego Garcia had “MS-13” tattooed on his knuckles is mired in controversy.
Given the absence of supporting evidence in other photographs and strong expert opinions suggesting the tattoos are not indicative of MS-13 gang affiliation, the claims made by Trump and the subsequent deportation of Abrego Garcia remain highly disputed.
image source from：https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/30/does-abrego-garcia-have-ms-13-tattooed-on-his-knuckles-as-trump-claims
