El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted photos of deported Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported, sipping margaritas with Sen. Chris Van Hollen amid concerns about the 29-year-old’s health. Nayib further added that Abrego Garcia will not be released.
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the “death camps” & “torture”, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!🍹” the Salvadorian president wrote on X, platform formerly known as Twitter. He further attached photos of Abrego Garcia talking to Sen Van Hollen.
Read More: Kilmar Abrego Garcia has ‘history of violence’, punched his wife: Trump admin amid deportation row
In an update minutes later, President Bukele added that the Maryland resident will not be released.“Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.”
Meanwhile, Maryland Sen Van Hollen confirmed that he met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia. In a social media post, the Democrat said that he will provide a complete update when he returns to the US.
“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,” the lawmaker tweeted.
This is the first time Abrego Garcia has been pictured since being arrested in Prince George’s County last month. President Donald Trump and Bukele said this week that they have no basis to send the 29-year-old back, even as the Trump administration has called his deportation a mistake and the US Supreme Court has called on the administration to facilitate his return.
Trump officials claimed that Abrego Garcia has ties to the MS-13 gang, further adding that he also beat his wife. Maryland Sen Van Hollen, meanwhile, decided to take a trip to El Salvador to meet the 29-year-old.
Van Hollen said Abrego Garcia has not had any contact with his family or his lawyers. “There has been no ability to find out anything about his health and well-being. We won’t give up until Kilmar has his due process rights respected.”
Since March, El Salvador has accepted over 200 Venezuelan immigrants from the US.
