This article first appeared on News From the States
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen met Thursday with the wrongly deported Maryland resident, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who’s been held for more than a month at a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador.
The meeting came at the end of Van Hollen’s second day in the country, where he faced difficulties securing an in-person meeting or phone call with the Salvadoran citizen. The Maryland Democrat traveled to the Central American country this week to help bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States or at least see how he was doing.
“I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar,” Van Hollen wrote in a social media post late Thursday, where he shared a picture of his meeting with Abrego Garcia, who appeared in civilian clothes.
“Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love,” Van Hollen said, adding that he would provide a full update upon his return to the United States.
Abrego Garcia has been housed at the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, or CECOT. The Trump administration has admitted in court that Abrego Garcia’s deportation stemmed from an “administrative error.”
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele appeared to mock the meeting between Van Hollen and Abrego Garcia on social media, saying: “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.”
