WASHINGTON

Secretary of State Marco Rubio refused to disclose Wednesday whether he formally requested El Salvador return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongfully deported last month to the Central American nation and imprisoned in a notorious mega prison.

"I would never tell you that. And you know who else I'll never tell? A judge. Because the conduct of our foreign policy belongs to the President of the United States and the executive branch, not some judge," Rubio told reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

"We will conduct foreign policy appropriately, if we need to, but I'll never discuss it, and no one will ever make us discussing it because that's how foreign policy works," he added.

CNN reported earlier that Rubio and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele have been in discussions about Abrego Garcia amid a court case seeking his return. The news network said that during private talks Bukele said he would not return the Maryland man to the US.

Multiple anonymous US officials told CNN that the Trump administration is neither seeking Abrego Garcia's return nor is it seeking to afford him any additional due process in the US or El Salvador.

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, entered the US in 2011 and later married a US citizen. In 2019, a judge granted a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador due to threats from gangs in that country.

Despite the legal protection, Abrego Garcia was deported March 15 in what US officials called an “administrative error,” without any due process to dispute the allegations against him.

He was jailed without trial at El Salvador’s infamous CECOT prison under a US-backed agreement that detains some deportees. El Salvador’s president has refused to allow his return.

Rubio said the Trump administration is seeking to find additional nations that would be willing to accept deported migrants.

"I say this unapologetically: We are actively searching for other countries to take people, from third countries. So, we are active; not just El Salvador," he said. "We are working with other countries to say, 'We want to send you some of the most despicable human beings to your countries.' Will you do that as a favor to us?'"

"I'm not apologetic about it. We are doing that," he added.​​​​​​​