Fresh evidence surfaced on Wednesday, raising new questions about the man known as the ‘Maryland man,’ who was deported by the Trump administration. The new information links him to a human trafficking operation, challenging the portrayal of him as an innocent immigrant wrongfully sent to a prison in El Salvador, a story often highlighted by Democrats and mainstream media.
Last week, the Tennessee Star published a report revealing that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 26, was involved in a 2022 traffic stop where state police suspected him of transporting seven individuals in an SUV from Texas to Maryland and other locations across the U.S. At the time, FBI agents reportedly instructed Tennessee officers to let Garcia and the others go, despite the vehicle’s connections to a human smuggling network.
Garcia was driving a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban, which a Baltimore investigative team from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has tied to a suspect involved in a human trafficking operation. Documents obtained by Just The News indicate that the vehicle had previously been used in smuggling activities, with trips to the southern border to pick up non-citizens. Authorities were advised to be on the lookout for it.
The Suburban was owned by Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, who Garcia claimed to be working for at the time of the traffic stop. Hernandez Reyes, also living unlawfully in the U.S., pleaded guilty in 2020 to charges related to smuggling undocumented immigrants. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and was later ordered to be deported by the Department of Homeland Security in March 2021.
Law enforcement raised concerns about the lack of luggage in Garcia’s vehicle, further suggesting possible passenger smuggling. Additionally, Garcia had been arrested in 2019, along with several others who admitted to being El Salvadoran nationals living illegally in the U.S. The connection to MS-13, a gang labeled a terrorist organization by President Trump, has been supported by two court rulings in Prince George’s County.
Despite these revelations, several Democratic members of Congress have traveled to El Salvador to advocate for Garcia’s release and repatriation to the U.S., citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. However, this ruling only asked the administration to “facilitate” his return, not to mandate it.