Salvadoran authorities stop Democrat Glenn Ivey's attempt to see Kilmar Ábrego

Maryland Democratic Congressman Glenn Ivey traveled to El Salvador to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia, but claimed President Nayib Bukele's government prevented him from entering the country.

Abrego Garcia's case has generated a great deal of controversy in recent months, since he was "wrongfully" deported from the United States to El Salvador in March, despite a court order prohibiting his expulsion.

In a video posted on social media, Ivey explained that he had previously contacted a Salvadoran ambassador and submitted a formal request to the government to visit Abrego Garcia, who had previously received a visit from another Democratic lawmaker. Despite the request, the authorities required him to return to San Salvador and process an additional permit.

"They knew we were coming, they knew why we were coming, and they know we have the right to do this," the outraged Democratic congressman said in the video. "So, they need to just cut the crap, let us get in there and have a chance to see him and talk with him."

Ivey traveled, accompanied by the detained man's lawyer and a representative of the Maryland labor union to which Abrego Garcia belonged, who lived in that state for 14 years after entering the U.S. illegally.

The congressman became the second federal Democratic legislator from Maryland to travel to the Central American country for this case. Last month, Senator Chris Van Hollen was also initially turned away before being able to meet with Abrego.

Abrego Garcia was detained by ICE on March 12 and deported three days later to the Confinement Center for Terrorism (CECOT), a maximum-security prison in El Salvador where the country's worst gang members are incarcerated.

Abrego Garcia was subsequently transferred to a lower-security facility. The Trump administration acknowledged that his deportation was the result of a "administrative error," but then various federal government officials, including Trump himself, defended the decision.

Despite some court rulings in his favor, Abrego Garcia remains in custody, becoming a national case driven mainly by Democrats. His lawyers have repeatedly charged that the federal government is obstructing his return and invoked the "state secrets" privilege to withhold key information from the federal judge in Maryland handling the case.