00:00Good afternoon. We're here today to announce a major update in an important
00:08case. Abrego Garcia has landed in the United States to face justice. On May 21st,
00:15a grand jury in the Middle District of Tennessee returned a sealed indictment
00:20charging Abrego Garcia with alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit
00:25alien smuggling in violation of Title 8 USC 1324. We want to thank President
00:33Bukele for agreeing to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. Our
00:38government presented El Salvador with an arrest warrant and they agreed to
00:43return him to our country. We're grateful to President Bukele for agreeing to
00:48return him to our country to face these very serious charges. This is what
00:54American justice looks like. Upon completion of a sentence, we anticipate
00:59he will be returned to his home country of El Salvador. The grand jury found that
01:06over the past nine years, Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien
01:13smuggling ring. They found this was his full-time job, not a contractor. He was a
01:22smuggler of humans and children and women. He made over a hundred trips, the grand jury
01:32found smuggling people throughout our country. MS-13 members, violent gang
01:40terrorist organization members throughout our country. Thousands of illegal aliens
01:49were smuggled. This is especially disturbing because Abrego Garcia is also
01:57alleged with transporting minor children. The defendant traded the innocence of
02:04minor children for profit. There are even more disturbing facts that the grand jury
02:11uncovered. It is alleged this defendant is part of the same smuggling ring
02:16responsible for the death of more than 50 migrants in 2021 after the tractor trailer overturned in
02:24Mexico. This is part of that same ring. The defendant abused undocumented alien females,
02:34according to co-conspirators, who were under his control while transporting them
02:39throughout our country. This defendant trafficked firearms and narcotics throughout our country
02:47on multiple occasions. They were using vehicles, SUVs, with added seats in the back, floors that had been
02:57ripped out, guns, narcotics, children, women, MS-13 members. That is what the grand jury found.
03:08A co-conspirator alleged that the defendant solicited nude photographs and videos of a minor. A co-conspirator also
03:18alleges the defendant played a role in the murder of a rival gang member's mother. These facts demonstrate Abrego
03:26Garcia is a danger to our community. We want to thank the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, our state and local
03:37partners, our acting U.S. Attorney Robert McGuire and prosecutors from the joint task force Vulcan.
03:45Questions?
03:47Attorney General, the traffic stop that we've seen video of from Tennessee where Alberto Garcia was first identified by the local authorities. At the time, the Homeland Security Department declined to take custody of him.
04:03The Homeland Security Department declined to take custody of him. What has happened in between that time and in between the time that the government has been arguing that he was not returnable from El Salvador? What has happened since in this investigation that brought you here?
04:18Yes, the question was in 2021 there was the traffic stop and what has changed since then. What has changed is Donald Trump is now President of the United States and our borders are again secure.
04:30And thanks to the bright light that has been shined on Abrego Garcia, this investigation continued with actually amazing police work. And we were able to track this case and stop this international smuggling ring from continuing.
04:51But these were recently found facts, right?
04:52Yes, recently found facts.
04:58To that point, can you just explain when this investigation was opened? The investigation in Tennessee, can you say when that investigation was opened?
05:04Well, the grand jury indicted on May 21st. This investigation has been ongoing.
05:10This case has been hotly debated here in Washington. In your mind, does this resolve that issue in terms of his deportation? And should this be seen in any way as compliant with the judge's order to return him to the U.S.
05:23Right.
05:24And the Supreme Court ruling that the U.S. government should facilitate his return?
05:29Well, there's a big difference between what the state of play was before the indictment and after the indictment.
05:38And so the reason why he is back and was returned was because it was an arrest warrant, which was presented to the government in El Salvador.
05:47So there's a big difference there.
05:49As far as whether it makes the ongoing litigation in Maryland moot, I would think so.
05:57But we don't know about this. You know, he just landed today.
06:02Jake, CBS.
06:03I just want to confirm what you said earlier, that you're intending to prosecute him and keep him in an American prison if he's found guilty and then would remove him after his sentence is over.
06:12Correct.
06:13Yes, he will be prosecuted in our country, sentenced in our country if convicted, and then returned after completion of his sentence.
06:23Last one, Sadie, Wall Street Journal.
06:26Okay.
06:27Two.
06:28One's on topic, one's off topic.
06:31Maybe I misunderstood you, but you were mentioning, you know, that he had some involvement in a murder, you know, or was connected to groups that had, you know, involved with this other smuggling ring.
06:41But to be clear, the only charges he's facing right now are the, like, you know, human smuggling charges.
06:48Just the, that's the one offense, but the other things that you have talked about are not actually in the indictment?
06:56No, co-conspirators alleged that, and we were clear to say that.
07:00He is charged with, it's not only, very serious charges of alien smuggling.
07:06And again, there were children involved in that.
07:09You know, human trafficking, not only in our country, but in our world, is very, very real.
07:15It's very dangerous.
07:17And as you saw recently in Virginia, the arrest we made of the MS-13 member unrelated to this, we learned at that press conference, that's where they bring young children into our country, and they start grooming them at middle school age to become MS-13 full-fledged members, commit violent crimes throughout our country.
07:40It is highly organized, it is very dangerous, and they are living throughout our country, but no more, because they are being arrested, they are being prosecuted, and being convicted, and deported when appropriate.
