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Sen. Chris Van Hollen went to El Salvador to make progress in securing the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and to check on his Maryland constituent’s health and condition after he was illegally deported and sent to an El Salvadorian prison.
What Van Hollen reported back to the American people after meeting El Salvador’s vice president was deeply disturbing.
Video of Sen. Van Hollen (D-MD):
Van Hollen said to the press:
I want to emphasize that President Trump and our Attorney General, Pam Bondi and the Vice President of the United States are lying when they say that Abrego Garcia has been charged with a crime or as part of MS 13, that is a lie.
And this is a lie to cover up what they did. So what did they do?
So they illegally abducted Mr. Abrego Garcia from Maryland and sent him to Sect, which is a notorious prison here in El Salvador.
In fact, it’s a prison where they say they send the worst of the worst, right? That’s where they send the terrorists.
Now, the courts of the United States have said there’s no evidence to support the charge that he is part of MS 13. So I asked the vice president. Whether or not El Salvador has any evidence that he’s part of MS 13 or has committed a crime,so I asked the vice president. If Abrego Garcia has not committed a crime and the US courts have found that he was illegally taken to 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?
And his answer was that the Trump administration, uh, is paying. El Salvador, the government of El Salvador to keep him Cecot.
And I pointed out that neither the government of El Salvador nor the Trump administration has presented evidence to support the claim that he’s committed any kind of criminal acts.
The Trump administration is illegally abducting and deporting legal residents, and they aren’t being sent back home because the administration doesn’t want the public to hear about their illegal activities and what the conditions are like in the prison in El Salvador.
Sen. Van Hollen promised that this story isn’t going away. Many other Senators and members of Congress are planning to come to El Salvador.
What the Trump administration is doing is criminal, and Republicans in Congress need to stand up and join the fight to stop this administration.
What do you think about Sen. Van Hollen’s efforts to secure the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
