El Salvador President Nayib Bukele staged a cheerful photo shoot with deported Maryland dad Kilmar Abrego Garcia to mock Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
Bukele published photos of Abrego Garcia, the man Trump mistakenly deported to El Salvador, at what appears to be a restaurant on Thursday.
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ & ‘torture’, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!” Bukele said in a post on X. “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.”
According to the New York Times, Bukele staged the scene to mock Van Hollen.
During their meeting, “a Bukele aide placed the two glasses with cherries and salted rims on the table in front of Mr. Van Hollen and Mr. Abrego Garcia in the middle of their meeting in an attempt to stage the photo,” The Times reported citing people familiar with the situation.
Abrego Garcia is one of hundreds of immigrants facing deportation who were sent to CECOT, one of Latin America’s largest prisons, under the Alien Enemies act (AEA). The prison has been criticized by human rights groups over alleged human rights violations.
A majority of the migrants deported by the Trump administration to the notorious prison do not have criminal records, including Abrego Garcia, who the administration admitted to sending to El Salvador in “error.”
The Supreme Court has since ruled that the U.S. must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return and that anyone deported under the AEA “are entitled to notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal.”
The Trump administration is refusing to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Van Hollen, for his part, ignored Bukele’s trolling and said he was just grateful to see Abrego Garcia alive and seemingly healthy.
“I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance,” Van Hollen said on X. “I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.”
