Van Hollen met with Kilmar Abrego in El Salvador and Bukele mocks meeting : 'From 'death camps' to 'sipping margaritas''

The Democratic senator from Maryland, Chris Van Hollen, reported Thursday that he was finally able to meet with Kilmar Abrego, who was wrongly deported to El Salvador, as admitted by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Through his X account, the Democratic leader highlighted that he had the opportunity to meet with Abrego and eventually communicated with his wife Jennifer. "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," Van Hollen detailed.

Following this message, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, mocked what was published by the Democratic senator, writing in a post through his X account that Abrego was sipping margaritas with Van Hollen and that his government would give him the honor of staying in El Salvador, implying that he would not return him to the U.S. "Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the 'death camps' & 'torture,' now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador! Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody," Bukele wrote.

"Administrative error"

Abrego, who was born in the Central American country, was deported to the maximum security prison CECOT in El Salvador, despite the fact that a federal judge had prohibited his deportation for security reasons. In addition to the DOJ's admission assuring that the actions taken against Abrego were due to an "administrative error," the U.S. judicial system ordered President Donald Trump's administration to "facilitate" his return to the United States.

While the Republican leader went so far as to comment during an interview with several reporters outside the presidential plane Air Force One that he would abide by the orders, he recently hinted during a meeting in the Oval Office with Bukele that he would make no effort to bring Abrego back.