President Donald Trump repeatedly clashed with ABC News' Terry Moran, whether Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was expelled from El Salvador in March by the U.S. government and his "MS13" - representing the MS-13 gang - was engraved on his knuckles.
In an ABC interview aired on April 29, Trump mentioned the images he shared on his truth social platform on April 18, showing what he said was Abreg Garcia’s tattoo.
The image shows four tattoos on the left hand, one on each finger: marijuana leaf, a smiling face with letter X for the eyes, cross and skull. It also shows a "M", "S", "1" and a "3" in the printed fonts below these tattoos. Words describing graphic tattoos also appear below each word in each small font.
Trump insisted that Abrego Garcia's hand said "MS13", which Moran said was controversial, and some said the tattoo was "that is explained." The president said: "Don't do that. M, S, one, three, it says M, S, one, three."
Moran retorted: “That’s photoshop.”
He tried to move on, but Trump continued. "Terry, do you want me to show you the photos?" Trump said. "His M, S is very clear. There is no explanation."
After Moran tried to divert the issue about Ukraine again, Trump said Abrego Garcia "gained 'MS13' on his knuckles.
When Trump shared the truth about what he said was Abrego Garcia’s social image, the interview went far beyond impressions, as he insisted that the “MS13” tattoo was part of the evidence used to expel him.
When we asked the White House for comment, a spokesperson said that any law enforcement or immigration official with field experience could connect Abrego Garcia’s tattoo to the MS-13 gang.
The letters and numbers m, s, 1 and 3 and the words below the symbols did not appear in other latest photos of Abrego Garcia's hand, including symbols taken by El Salvador government officials when they met Senator Chris van Hollen JR on April 17. ElSalvador's President Nayib Bukele shared it on X.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously rising from “death camp” and “torture”, is now drinking margarita with Senator Van Hollen of El Salvador’s tropical paradise! pic.twitter.com/r6vwc6fjtn
-Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) April 18, 2025
The tattoos also did not appear in Abreg Garcia's family photos shared by immigration advocates.
MS-13 experts told Politifact that the painting tattoos in the photos are not symbols of MS-13.
The Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia to Cecot, a large prison in El Salvador, on March 15, where it sent hundreds of El Salvadorians and Venezuelans previously in the United States. But Abrego Garcia's protection order should prevent him from being deported to El Salvador. U.S. immigration and customs law enforcement lawyers acknowledged that they were aware of the restrictions and called his removal in court documents “supervisory” and “administrative error.”
The Trump administration said Abrego Garcia and others deported to El Salvador were members of the MS-13 gang, a member of the member Abrego Garcia and lawyers denied in court documents. All were deported without proper procedures; the government did not present evidence of its gang members before a judge in the deportation case, and immigrants had no chance to defend themselves. The New York Times reported that of the 238 men deported to El Salvador, most of them had neither a criminal record nor a link to a Venezuelan prison gang in the United States.
When Abrego Garcia was arrested in March 2019, a police informant told police that he was a member of MS-13, according to a report called the “Gang Field Interview Form.” The judge initially ruled in 2019 that the government's evidence on Abrego Garcia's gang membership was "trustworthy" and was upheld by the appeal. Later, two federal judges ruled that the government's information was not supported. It is based on the outfit Abrego Garcia wore when she was arrested in 2019, and what self-combusting police called a confidential source.
Abrego Garcia's lawyer said MS-13 gang membership was charged. They tried to reverse his deportation, but the government argued that since he left our jurisdiction, this could not be taken.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government must "promote" Abreg Garcia's release. According to news reports, Abrego Garcia has been transferred to a lower prison.
As for the painting tattoos on Abrego Garcia's hands, marijuana leaves, crosses and skulls are widely used by people who are not part of the gang. Gang crime experts say they didn't stand out for them with the MS-13 mark.
"I don't believe he would have such a universal tattoo on his hands that he would have such a disgusting and sarcastic general-purpose tattoo on his hands," said Liliana Castaneda Rossmann, a communications professor at San Marcos Emerita at California State University and author of books beyond the gang.
Sean Kennedy, a former federal public defender in California and now a professor at Loyola Law School, said in his experience representing current and former MS-13 members: “The tattoos in the photos are not familiar to me.”
Kennedy said the design was out of place with a typical MS-13 tattoo.
"In MS-13 culture, such markers may be frown or even seen as signs of cowardice, as they can be interpreted as attempts to hide or downplay gang affiliation," Kennedy said. "This concealment violates the norms of the gang, which often requires bold, visible identity and loyalty."
Charles Katz, director of the Center for Prevention and Community Safety at Arizona State University, agreed.
Katz said local law enforcement will be more familiar with specific tattoo designs in a given area, but “I have studied MS-13-related issues in El Salvador and the United States over the past 15 years, and I have never seen tattoos or graffiti suggest that these particular tattoos are related to MS-13.”
Experts say that as long as the tattoo is one of many kinds of evidence, tattoos can help identify gang members.
"While police gang experts often use so-called gang tattoos as indirect evidence of alleged gang involvement, they never use tattoos alone as certain evidence of gang affiliation," said David M. Kennedy, a gang professor of criminal justice. "This is especially true, where tattoos, like things like religion, loss, personal transformation or cultural identity, may reflect other things, which is especially true."
Trump said Abrego Garcia "has 'MS-13' engraved on his knuckles...his MS is as clear as possible, without explanation."
The numbers m, s, 1 and 3 and the words below the symbols did not appear in other photos by Abrego Garcia's hands, including one shared by the El Salvador government.
Experts from MS-13 and other gangs say the painted tattoos shown are not typical designs for MS-13 or other gangs, and they say several of them are commonly used by people who have nothing to do with the gang.
We rate the statement The pants are on fire!