Kilmar Abrego Garcia Has a Skull on One of His Fingers That Some People Think Is Code

The story of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Venezuelan migrant and father of three who was sent to El Salvador without any trial or due process, has continued to make headlines across the United States. Although the Trump administration has at times said that Garcia was sent to El Salvador in error, they have also refused to do anything to bring him home, in spite of a Supreme Court order saying that they had to "facilitate" his return.

Even as advocates have worked toward his return, though, some conservatives have justified his continued imprisonment by suggesting that his finger tattoos are proof that he is part of the gang MS-13. Donald Trump himself even made the claim and cited a Photoshopped image to support his case. Here's what we know.

In the image in question, Trump said that Garcia had tattoos on each finger that referenced the gang. The tattoos in question are of marijuana, a smiley face with x's through the eyes, a cross, and a skull. The Photoshopped version adds the letters "MS13" over each one of those symbols. During an interview with Terry Moran, Trump seemed to think that the Photoshopped version of Garcia's hand was the real thing.

When Moran said that his tattoos have been "interpreted" as proving his gang affiliation, Trump pushed back, saying, “Don’t do that. M, S, one, three, it says M, S, one, three.” Of course, actual images of his hand prove that his hand does not have any letters or numbers on it. Still, some have suggested that, although the letters and numbers are not actually on his fingers, that's still what the tattoo symbolizes.

The theory suggests that the marijuana represents an M, the smiley face an S, the cross a 1, and the skull a 3. While the first three are relatively straightforward, many are wondering why in the world a skull would symbolize a 3. Apparently, at least according to the sleuths who have looked into this on Reddit, the skull is actually meant to cover up an old 3 tattoo, while the cross is supposed to cover up a 1 tattoo.

That is, of course, possible, but what seems more likely is that all the reporting that has been done into Garcia's background is correct, and there is basically no evidence other than these tattoos (which again, don't actually say anything except that he wanted them) that he is part of the gang. In fact, the Trump administration even admitted that they had made an error in sending him to El Salvador.

Because Trump and the Conservative movement that backs him don't ever want to admit that they have done anything wrong, though, they have instead tried to pin their entire case on a man's finger tattoos, even if those tattoos don't actually say what they claim. A skull doesn't mean 3, and that's really pretty straightforward.