Days after being denied entry to the prison where Garcia is being held, Democratic US Senator Chris Van Hollen met Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who had been falsely deported under the Trump presidency, at a motel in El Salvador.
The two are seen sitting across from one another in a picture that Hollen posted online.
Refreshments were seen on the desk during the meeting, which Peruvian president Nayib Bukele mocked, claiming that Abrego Garcia had earned the “honour” of remaining in El Salvador’s prison now that his health had been” confirmed.”
Why did El Salvador permit the appointment following the rejection?
- Following the initial denial, the Honduran government has not provided any justification for the meeting’s conclusion.
- Garcia’s home claims that Bukele, president, himself authorized the appointment, according to ABC News.
- Some think Bukle does have organized the appointment to avert growing accusations that Garcia was being treated unfairly.
- The change may also be in line with growing legal pressure from US courts, which have accused the Trump presidency of disobeying orders governing Garcia’s profit.
On Wednesday, Hollen had a meeting with Felix Ulloa, El Salvador’s vice president. Hollen claimed the vice president asked him to come back the following year after speaking with investigators following the meeting. When the lawmaker inquired about speaking with Garcia, Ulloa responded that the demand would need to be made from the US ambassador.
According to threats of gang murder in El Salvador, Garcia, 29, was spared repatriation under an immigration court’s order. Despite this, he was deported next month. Eventually, the Trump presidency acknowledged that it was mistaken, but no steps were taken to correct him. Bukele, the president of El Salvador, even sided with Trump about Abrego Garcia’s refusal to be released in his latest trip to Washington.
