Wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia will 'continue to stand by him' after filing 2021 protection order 'out of caution'

The wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the alleged MS-13 gang member deported from the United States to El Salvador by the Trump administration, has said that she will "stand by" her husband and said that she had filed a domestic violence protection order against him in 2021 "out of caution."

Jennifer Vasquez Sura told WUSA9, "Kilmar has always been a loving partner and father, and I will continue to stand by him and demand justice for him."

Her comment came after the Department of Justice published the protection order sought by Sura in 2019, which stated that "respondent punched and scratched petitioner, ripped off shirt, grabbed and bruised petitioner."

Sura acknowledged the filing against her husband, but told the outlet that she had survived a previous domestic violence relationship and decided to seek protection against Abrego Garcia "out of caution."

"Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process," she said. The case was dismissed after the petitioner, Sura, did not appear in court.

She continued, "We were able to work through this situation privately as a family, including by going to counseling. Our marriage only grew stronger in the years that followed. No one is perfect and no marriage is perfect."

Sura said that her past struggles with Abrego Garcia are "not a justification for ICE's action of abducting him and deporting him to a country where he was supposed to be protected from deportation."

Documents released by the Department of Justice on Wednesday from the Prince George’s County Police Gang Unit said that Abrego Garcia a member of MS-13’s Western Clique, holding the rank of “Chequeo,” with the moniker “Chele." The information was corroborated by a confidential source authorities have said provides reliable intelligence. Abrego Garcia was also seen wearing clothing showing symbols linked to the gang.

He was arrested in 2019 and taken into custody along with other known MS-13 members, including Christhyan Hernandez-Romero (“Bimbo”) as well as Jose Guillermo Dominguez (“Maniaco”), both of whom sported gang tattoos linked to leadership roles.