Sen. Chris Van Hollen flew to El Salvador this week to demand the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
The Democratic senator from Maryland requested a meeting or a phone call with Abrego Garcia — who is being held at the country’s Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) along with other recent deportees — and was denied. Instead, he spoke with the country’s vice president and demanded the Maryland man’s release.
“I asked the vice president whether or not El Salvador has any evidence that he is part of the MS-13 or has committed a crime,” Van Hollen told reporters after the meeting. “If Abrego Garcia has not committed any crimes and the U.S. Courts have found that he was illegally taken from the United States, and the government of El Salvador has no evidence that he was part of MS-13, why is El Salvador continuing to hold him in CECOT?”
The Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States last week. The administration, along with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, have thrown up their hands and claimed returning Abrego Garcia to the United States is impossible.
Salvadoran Vice President Félix Ulloa offered a slightly more honest reasoning for why Abrego Garcia is still in El Salvador’s custody.
“His answer was that the Trump administration is paying El Salvador to keep him at CECOT,” Van Hollen shared. “I’m simply asking him to open the door of CECOT and let this innocent man walk out.”
Van Hollen said the Trump administration is “clearly in violation” of court orders and that he saw “no evidence” of officials complying with the highest court’s demands.
Watch his remarks below:
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