El Salvador denies Van Hollen's request to meet with Abrego Garcia
Sen. Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador in hopes of meeting with Abrego Garcia in person while pressing government officials to release him from prison.
A top Salvadoran official on Wednesday rejected Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s request to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man the Trump administration said it mistakenly deported to El Salvador last month.
Van Hollen, D-Md., met with Félix Ulloa, the vice president of El Salvador, and framed Abrego Garcia's deportation as an "illegal abduction." He said he asked for an in-person visit to ensure Abrego Garcia's safety and health.
Ulloa refused to allow a virtual or in-person meeting, in addition to denying Van Hollen's request to facilitate a phone call between Abrego Garcia and his family.
"I asked him if I came back next week whether I’d be able to see Mr. Abrego Garcia. He said he couldn’t promise that either," Van Hollen said.
The Maryland senator, who represents the state where Abrego Garcia lived before he was sent to a prison in El Salvador, called the Trump administration's resistance to facilitating Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S. an attempt to "cover up" his wrongful deportation.
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