Maryland Sen. Van Hollen meets with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador amid court fight over US return [View all]
Source: AP
Updated 9:32 PM EDT, April 17, 2025
SAN SALVADOR (AP) — Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen met Thursday in El Salvador with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was sent there by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation.
Van Hollen posted a photo of the meeting on X, saying he also called Abrego Garcia’s wife “to pass along his message of love.” The lawmaker did not provide an update on the status of Abrego Garcia, whose attorneys are fighting to force the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the U.S., saying he would have more details Friday.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele posted images of the meeting minutes before Van Hollen shared his post, saying, “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.” The tweet ended with emojis of the U.S. and El Salvador flags, with a handshake emoji between them.
A spokeswoman for El Salvador’s presidency said she had no further information. The meeting came hours after Van Hollen said he was denied entry into an high-security El Salvador prison Thursday while he was trying to check on Abrego Garcia’s well-being and push for his release.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/abrego-garcia-el-salvador-trump-deportation-van-hollen-senator-81cca0ac24a9a312be97c730679f8dd1
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Link to tweet
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I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.
Photo of Senator Chris Van Hollen with Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
8:59 PM · Apr 17, 2025
As a note - people may have seen me in other threads expecting that he would most likely have still been alive because when you have people like Putin keeping our "detained" citizens alive, it's for the "fear factor", and the same would apply here. El Salvador is making $$$$ off of use of that prison and does not want to suddenly lose trade with the rest of the world.
Article updated.
Original article -
SAN SALVADOR (AP) -- Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen met Thursday in El Salvador with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was sent there by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation.
Van Hollen posted a photo of the meeting on X, saying he also called Abrego Garcia's wife "to pass along his message of love." The lawmaker did not provide an update on the status of Abrego Garcia, whose attorneys are fighting to force the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the U.S.
El Salvador's Presidnet Nayib Bukele posted images of the meeting minutes before Van Hollen shared his post, saying "Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the 'death camps' & 'torture', now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!"
The meeting came hours after Van Hollen said he was denied entry into an high-security El Salvador prison Thursday while he was trying to check on Abrego Garcia's well-being and push for his release.
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