President Donald Trump criticized Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Friday for visiting El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported by the U.S. government last month.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump called Van Hollen a "fool" and accused him of "begging for attention" during the visit:
"Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland looked like a fool yesterday standing in El Salvador begging for attention from the Fake News Media, or anyone," Trump wrote. "GRANDSTANDER!!!"
Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador to visit Abrego García at the infamous CECOT prison, where hundreds of U.S. deportees have been sent. Although access to the location was denied, he confirmed on Thursday that he had successfully met with Abrego Garcia elsewhere:
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. pic.twitter.com/U9y2gZpxCb
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) April 18, 2025
Photos of the meeting were reposted online by El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, who mocked U.S. media coverage of the case. "He (Abrego García) has miraculously risen from the 'death camps' & 'torture,' and was now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador," Bukele wrote on X. He added that Abrego Garcia would remain in Salvadoran custody:
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the “death camps” & “torture”, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!🍹 pic.twitter.com/r6VWc6Fjtn
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) April 18, 2025
The case has drawn national attention after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled on April 10 that the government must "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return, citing a 2019 court order that protected him from deportation. He had been living in Maryland under protected legal status due to fears of persecution in El Salvador.
Despite the ruling, the Trump administration has resisted efforts to bring him back, arguing that Abrego Garcia is affiliated with MS-13. The accusation was repeated most recently by White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai, who said in a statement that "Chris Van Hollen has firmly established Democrats as the party whose top priority is the welfare of an illegal alien MS-13 terrorist."
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