U.S. senator who travelled to El Salvador says he's been denied access to Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 16, 2025 4:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 38 minutes ago

Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen said connected Wednesday authorities successful El Salvador had denied him entree to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran antheral mistakenly deported and being held successful a notorious situation successful the country.

Van Hollen arrived successful the Central American federation connected Wednesday greeting saying helium would question to conscionable with elder Salvadoran officials to unafraid Abrego Garcia's release.

But Van Hollen told reporters El Salvador's Vice President Felix Ulloa had told the legislator helium could not authorize a sojourn oregon a telephone with Abrego Garcia.

Van Hollen, who is simply a subordinate of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Ulloa had besides told him El Salvador was not releasing Abrego Garcia due to the fact that the United States was paying to support him incarcerated.

"Why should the authorities of the United States wage the authorities of El Salvador to fastener up a antheral who was illegally abducted from the United States and committed nary crime?" Van Hollen said.

The authorities of El Salvador did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected Van Hollen's visit.

'Administrative error' successful U.S.

After Washington acknowledged Abrego Garcia had been deported owed to an "administrative error," the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an bid by Judge Paula Xinis directing the authorities to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return.

In a gathering with U.S. President Donald Trump astatine the White House connected Monday, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said helium had nary plans to instrumentality Abrego Garcia. Earlier connected Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said successful a tribunal filing that it "does not person authorization to forcibly" bring Abrego Garcia back.

On Tuesday, Xinis said she would not instantly clasp the authorities successful contempt of court, but said determination was nary grounds the Trump medication had tried to retrieve Abrego Garcia and said she would not tolerate "gamesmanship oregon grandstanding."

Along with Abrego Garcia, the Trump medication has deported hundreds of people, mostly Venezuelans, whom it says are pack members, to El Salvador nether the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 without presenting grounds and without a trial.

Neither authorities has released the names of the men incarcerated, and the men person not had entree to lawyers oregon immoderate interaction with the extracurricular satellite since arriving astatine the prison, lawyers person said.

In March, aft a justice said flights carrying migrants prosecuted nether the Alien Enemies Act should instrumentality to the United States, Bukele wrote connected X that it was excessively late, alongside images showing men being rushed disconnected a level successful the dark.

Contempt charges imaginable for U.S. officials: judge

A national justice connected Wednesday said officials successful Trump's medication could look transgression prosecution for contempt of tribunal for violating his bid past period halting deportations of Venezuelan migrants nether the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law.

Abrego Garcia, 29, near El Salvador astatine property 16 to flight gang-related violence, his lawyers person said. He was granted a protective bid successful 2019 to proceed surviving successful the United States. He has ne'er been charged with oregon convicted of immoderate crime, according to Abrego Garcia's lawyers, who person denied the U.S. Justice Department's allegation that helium is simply a subordinate of the transgression pack MS-13.

During his press conference, Van Hollen stressed that neither the Salvadoran authorities nor the Trump medication person presented immoderate grounds that Abrego Garcia was a subordinate of the gang.

U.S. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth was to conscionable connected Wednesday with El Salvador's curate of nationalist defence, Rene Merino, astatine the Pentagon.