Sen. Van Hollen accuses El Salvador government of being complicit in violating U.S. Constitutional rights in Kilmar Abrego Garcia case
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen on Monday shared more details about his trip to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador last month and accused the Salvadoran government of being complicit in violating U.S. constitutional rights.
Abrego Garcia was deported to a notorious Salvadoran prison in March, due to what the Trump administration has called an administrative error. He had a U.S. court order that should have prevented his deportation to his native country.
Van Hollen continues to call on the Trump administration to comply with federal and Supreme Court orders that require the government to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S.
During a conversation with the Center for American Progress Monday, the senator called Abrego Garcia's case "a critical moment for this country."
"This case really is a test about whether we are going to stand up for the Constitution, and in my view, it's never wrong to fight for the Constitution of the United States," Van Hollen said.
Van Hollen: governments spreading misinformation
According to Van Hollen, U.S. and Salvadoran government leaders have been spreading misinformation about Abrego Garcia's case, alleging that he is a gang member and trying to stage parts of the senator's visit to El Salvador.
The senator accused U.S. leaders of flooding social media with misinformation in an effort to focus the conversation on gang violence.
The Trump administration has alleged that Abrego Garcia is a member of the transnational MS-13 gang. Abrego Garcia's attorneys and family have denied the claims, pointing to his clean criminal record in both the U.S. and El Salvador.
"We can fight gang violence without suspending the Constitution of the United States," Van Hollen said Monday. "We should not let them spew misinformation and change the subject."
Van Hollen emphasized that the gang claims have not been proven in court.
"My response to them on the social media side or the misinformation is put up or shut up in court," Van Hollen said. "That's where people provide testimony under oath."
Van Hollen: Salvadoran government complicit
The senator further accused the Salvadoran government of being complicit in violating U.S. Constitutional rights by keeping Abrego Garcia in custody and joining in the effort to spread misinformation.
Van Hollen previously said that, during his trip, he learned the Salvadoran government is only keeping Abrego Garcia detained because the U.S. government is paying them to do so.
"The Government of El Salvador is holding him solely at the request of your Administration and, specifically, because you are paying them to imprison him," Van Hollen wrote in a letter to President Trump.
"They are therefore complicit in this scheme," he said on Monday.
Van Hollen: part of Abrego Garcia meeting staged
During Van Hollen's trip to El Salvador in April, he was twice denied a meeting with Abrego Garcia. He said the meeting was finally coordinated after he held a news conference, saying that El Salvador was violating international law by preventing Abrego Garcia from communicating with his lawyers.
He revealed that the Salvadoran government attempted to stage parts of the meeting, initially requesting that Van Hollen and Abrego Garcia meet by a pool, and later adding two drinks that resembled margaritas to their table.
The photos were shared on social media by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, with the caption, "Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the 'death camps' & 'torture', now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!"
"They wanted to make it look like a tropical paradise," Van Hollen said. "The idea was to deceive people into thinking that, you know, here was Abrego Garcia enjoying himself in a tropical paradise when he had just been in the most notorious prison."
"I think that this is an illustration of the lengths to which not only Bukele will go, but also the Trump administration will go just to lie to people and try to change the subject," he added.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia illegally entered the U.S. in 2011 and lived in Maryland until his deportation in March. In 2019 he was granted a withholding of removal order meant to prevent the U.S. government from sending him back to El Salvador.
