On April 18th, Trump showed a doctored picture of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s knuckle's with "MS-13" tattooed on them. At the time I thought this story was greatly exaggerated, but today, an interview with Trump came out that changed everything.
The Back Story
In March 2025, the Trump administration began deporting alleged gang members—mostly Venezuelans accused of ties to the Tren de Aragua—to El Salvador’s high-security CECOT prison under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Despite a federal judge’s restraining order, the administration proceeded, arguing the order wasn’t enforceable. Many deportees had no U.S. criminal records, and a CBS investigation revealed only a small number had serious charges. The U.S. paid El Salvador $6 million to detain the individuals for a year, sparking backlash from human rights groups over due process violations and prison conditions.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a legally residing Salvadoran national in Maryland, was mistakenly deported to El Salvador’s high-security CECOT prison due to an administrative error by U.S. immigration authorities. Despite a 2019 court order granting him protection from deportation, the Trump administration alleged ties to MS-13, citing unverified claims. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled his deportation illegal and ordered his return, but the administration resisted, arguing judicial overreach.
Known Facts About Kilmar Abrego Garcia
In 2019, he was arrested in Maryland while seeking day labor work; authorities cited his attire and a confidential informant’s claim to suggest MS-13 gang affiliation. In 2022, he was pulled over in Tennessee driving a vehicle owned by a convicted human smuggler, transporting eight passengers without luggage, raising suspicions of human trafficking. Additionally, a 2021 domestic abuse complaint from his wife accused him of physical violence, though she later retracted the claims. Despite these incidents, Abrego Garcia has not been convicted of any crimes, and his family and legal representatives deny all allegations, asserting that he has no ties to criminal organizations.
Does Kilmar Abrego Garcia Have "MS-13" Tattooed On His Knuckles?
On April 19th, Trump posted an image on X of Garcia's knuckles with symbols below, and the text "MS13" Above. The color of the text matches the color of the tattoos below, leading many people to believe that someone Photoshopped the text onto the image to frame Garcia. This caused countless news organisations to write articles with controversial titles accusing Trump of lying about the tattoos and Garcia's gang affiliation. 
As someone who uses Photoshop every day, I was very interested in this story, but after only a few moments of looking into it, the story appeared to be more anti-Trump "fake news." Yes, the text was obviously added to the photo, but it wasn't necessarily nefarious; it was simply showing what the symbols below represent. 
After Trump released this photo, multiple photos of Garcia's tattoos were released and you can clearly see the text isn't there.
Do the symbols on Garcia's knuckles actually represent "MS-13?" I've heard arguments from both sides, and to me it feels plausible, but unlikely.
Trump Actually Believes The Photoshopped Text Is Real
I was going to write a story about this weeks ago, but when I realized the added text was simply showing the meaning of the symbols, I decided there wasn't really a story. You can argue the validity of the interpretation of the tattoos, but there is no debate that the text above the symbols was added... Right?
This morning I saw an ABC interview with Trump that shocked me. Apparently Trump himself believes that the text added to the image was a real tattoo. The section on these tattoos begins at 20:00.
This revelation is such a strange turn of events. On one hand, nobody can blame Trump for doctoring the photo himself, because even he didn't know it was doctored. But how is this possible? Who gave him this photo, and how was its meaning not explained? Hopefully by now, someone has told him that the text was added to the image, and being that this appears to be the best evidence we have of Garcia's gang affiliation, will Trump change his opinion of Garcia's guilt?
" ... will Trump change his opinion of Garcia's guilt?"
Yes. And I will flap my arms and fly to Pluto.