Photo Trump shared of Abrego Garcia’s tattoos real but altered; no evidence they’re gang-related

On April 18, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump posted a photo on X and Truth Social supposedly showing proof that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who immigrated to the U.S. illegally from El Salvador in 2012 then was detained and deported by the Trump administration in March 2025, was a member of the MS-13 gang.

In the photo, Trump can be seen holding a piece of paper featuring a separate picture purportedly showing the tattoos across Abrego Garcia’s hand. 

(X user @realDonaldTrump)

Other users shared a cropped version of the photograph showing a close-up of the tattoos: 

(X user @WesternDecline_)

Snopes readers searched the site and wrote to us asking if the photograph was real and if it proved Abrego Garcia was affiliated with MS-13. While publicly available evidence confirmed the image shared by Trump was authentic in origin, it also confirmed that the image had been altered to insert the text “MS-13” above the actual tattoos — in effect annotating them. There was no clear evidence the symbols on Abrego Garcia’s fingers proved an affiliation with MS-13.

Abrego Garcia was mistakenly detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on March 12, 2025. According to CASA, an immigration advocacy organization involved in Abrego Garcia’s legal defense, he had no criminal convictions in either the U.S. or El Salvador. In 2019, a judge ordered that he not be returned to El Salvador on the grounds that he would face persecution. Three days after his detainment in 2025, however, the government sent Abrego Garcia to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center prison, or CECOT, without a hearing, according to The New York Times.

The Trump administration itself called his detention and removal an “administrative error.” 

Even after acknowledging it had made a mistake, however, the administration repeatedly claimed that it ordered Abrego Garcia be sent to the Salvadoran mega-prison because he was a member of MS-13. (Snopes previously investigated the little evidence the administration has used to justify Abrego Garcia’s gang affiliation and concluded there was not sufficient evidence to prove he was in the gang.) Trump shared the photograph as supposed proof of such a connection, and the post’s caption claimed Abrego Garcia had “MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles.”

Other photos of Abrego Garcia provided confirmation that he has four knuckle tattoos, as shown in the picture held by Trump. Trump’s picture had been edited to add the text “MS-13” above the tattoos, but there was no actual evidence demonstrating a link between the tattoos and the El Salvadoran gang. 

Trump’s photo of the tattoos was edited, likely in an attempt to add context

The photo held by Trump shows four knuckle tattoos — a marijuana leaf, a smiley face with X’s for eyes, a crucifix and a skull. We confirmed the existence of these tattoos on Abrego Garcia’s hand by cross-checking with other images of him. Two separate photos in USA Today stories (one came from El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s social media and the other was credited to CASA) featured the knuckle tattoos, although only the skull and cross were visible in one of them. 

However, Trump’s “proof” also contained “MS13” spelled across the knuckles and a description of the four tattoos underneath — “marijuana, smile, cross, skull.” Those elements were not present in the other photos in the USA Today articles, indicating they were added to Trump’s photo after the fact. Therefore, Abrego Garcia did not have the gang’s name literally “tattooed onto his knuckles.”

Abrego Garcia’s tattoos did not match known MS-13 tattoos

Snopes reached out to several experts in gang tattoos to learn more about the symbolism in MS-13 tattoos and whether Abrego Garcia’s tattoos matched those symbols. We also reached out to ICE for comment. We had not heard back from any of them at the time of publishing.

Looking at other photos of MS-13 gang tattoos, however, revealed that members of the gang have its name literally tattooed on their bodies in some form, generally an “MS,” a “13” or both. A source from ICE reportedly told the New York Post that if Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13, getting such a tattoo would have been a requirement. However, Snopes was unable to independently verify this claim.

If MS-13 members are required to have a rather blatant “MS” or “13” tattoo and if Abrego Garcia was actually involved with the gang, the Trump administration would presumably be able to share a photo of such a tattoo. The fact that the four knuckle tattoos, none of which were “MS13,” were the supposed proof undermined the administration’s claim of his affiliation with the gang. 

The ICE source who reportedly spoke to the New York Post also said he had “never heard of those resemblances being made” when asked if Abrego Garcia’s knuckle tattoos signified membership in MS-13.

Regardless of whether Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13 or not, the U.S. Constitution grants him the right to due process and the Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration on April 10 to “facilitate” his return. As of this writing, the administration had not complied with the ruling.

Sources