Kilmar Abrego Garcia Charged With Human Trafficking: Read the Indictment
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The United States fetched Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador on Friday, nearly three months after his mistaken deportation, charging the Maryland-based migrant who became a flashpoint in the Trump administration's immigration policies with federal human trafficking crimes.
The 29-year-old Salvadoran national is accused of taking part in a human smuggling ring for around nine years, according to a Tennessee grand jury indictment filed on May 21. The indictment was made public on Friday, as Abrego Garcia was en route to the U.S. to be arraigned.
Friday afternoon, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Abrego Garcia had landed back in the U.S. "to face justice", after the Trump administration previously avoided facilitating his return from his home country despite an order by the U.S. Supreme Court.
His attorneys said at a media briefing Friday evening that the government was playing "dirty tricks".
Why It Matters
After it emerged Abrego Garcia was deported following an "administrative error" under the Alien Enemies Act, the Trump administration insisted that he was a known MS-13 gang member and criminal, despite not presenting evidence. The indictment finally lays out the allegations against him.
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference about Kilmar Abrego Garcia at the Justice Department, Friday June 6, 2025, in Washington. Right: Protestors call for the release of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia,...
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference about Kilmar Abrego Garcia at the Justice Department, Friday June 6, 2025, in Washington. Right: Protestors call for the release of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to CECOT prison in El Salvador before the administration of US President Donald Trump admitted he was sent there due to an "administrative error," outside the Metropolitan Detention Center of the Federal Bureau of Prisons during a May Day Workers Unite! march in Los Angeles, California, on May 1, 2025. More
AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson/PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
What To Know
The ten-page indictment filed in Tennessee charges Abrego Garcia with:
Conspiracy to transport aliens
Unlawful transportation of undocumented aliens
Bondi said Abrego Garcia would be tried on these charges and, if found guilty, serve a sentence in the U.S. before being returned to El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia's legal team told reporters Friday evening that he would be rigorously defending the allegations against him.
What Did Abrego Garcia Allegedly Do?
The indictment alleges that between 2016 and 2025, Abrego Garcia and a group of others "conspired to bring undocumented aliens to the United States from countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador, and elsewhere." These migrants passed through Mexico before reached the U.S.
The Salvadoran allegedly used cell phones and social media to coordinate the operation, taking payments from the individuals they were smuggling.
The indictment repeats the claim that Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang, linked to the aforementioned countries and originating out of Los Angeles, and that he used his status within the gang to "further his criminal activity".
Abrego Garcia allegedly worked with other individuals to collect the migrants who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into Texas and transport them elsewhere within the U.S.
Some of the women Abrego Garcia transported allegedly told other members of the group that he had abused them.
What People Are Saying
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, in a statement sent to Newsweek: "For the last 2 months, the media and Democrats have burnt to the ground any last shred of credibility they had left as they glorified Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a known MS13 gang member, human trafficker, and serial domestic abuser.
"Today, the United States of America confronts Kilmar Abrego Garcia with overwhelming evidence— he is being indicted by a grand jury for human smuggling, including children, and conspiracy.
"Justice awaits this Salvadoran man."
Abrego Garcia's attorney Ama Frimpong told a briefing about his wife: "Jennifer learned about this information from the press."
Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn posted on X Friday afternoon: "It's finally time for Abrego Garcia to face justice."
What's Next
Noem confirmed Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S. in a court filing Friday afternoon. A court hearing has not yet been announced.
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