A Maryland resident deported to El Salvador as a result of “an administrative error” was a member of the MS-13 gang, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.

Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was last known to be at a notorious prison in El Salvador known as CECOT. Leavitt said while his deportation may have been a clerical error, Abrego Garcia was a leader of the criminal gang.

“The administration maintains the position that this individual who was deported to El Salvador and will not be returning to our country was a member of the brutal and vicious MS-13 gang,” Leavitt said. “We also have credible intelligence proving that this individual was involved in human trafficking. This individual was a member, actually a leader, of the brutal MS-13 gang, which this president has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.” 

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