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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kilmar Abrego Garcia: Man wrongly deported from US to El Salvador has been returned to face criminal charges
A man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration has been returned to the US to face criminal charges. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was charged in an indictment filed in federal court in Tennessee with conspiring to transport illegal immigrants into the US, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday. The indictment was filed on 21 May, more than two months after he was deported from the US, court records have shown. In a statement, Abrego Garcia's lawyer Andrew Rossman said it would now be up to the US judicial system to ensure he received due process. "Today's action proves what we've known all along - that the administration had the ability to bring him back and just refused to do so," he said. Abrego Garcia was deported from Maryland despite an immigration judge's 2019 order granting him protection after finding he was likely to be persecuted by gangs if he was returned there. The indictment alleges that Mr Garcia worked with at least five co-conspirators to bring immigrants to the US illegally and transport them from the border to other destinations in the country. On Friday, Ms Bondi outlined the charges at a news conference: "The grand jury found that over the past nine years, Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring. "He made over 100 trips the grand jury found - smuggling people throughout our country... MS-13 [international criminal gang] members, violent gang terrorist organisation members... throughout our country. "He will be prosecuted in our country, sentenced in our country if convicted and then returned after completion of his sentence." Ms Bondi said Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele agreed to return Mr Garcia to the US after American officials presented his government with an arrest warrant. Critics of Donald Trump have pointed to the deportation of Mr Garcia as an example of the excesses of the Republican president's aggressive immigration policies. US District Judge Paula Xinis has opened a probe into what, if anything, Mr Trump's administration has done to secure his return, after his lawyers accused officials of stonewalling their requests for information. Officials responded by alleging that Mr Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang - something his lawyers have strongly denied. In a separate statement, Pam Bondi also attacked what she called the "Fake News Media" and repeated the - yet unproven - allegations against Mr Garcia. "The Justice Department's Grand Jury Indictment against Abrego Garcia proves the unhinged Democrat Party was wrong, and their stenographers in the Fake News Media were once again played like fools. "Abrego Garcia was never an innocent 'Maryland Man'- Abrego Garcia is an illegal alien terrorist, gang member, and human trafficker who has spent his entire life abusing innocent people, especially women and the most vulnerable."
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dem Sen Reveals El Salvador's Goons Faked Margaritas With Deported Dad
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)'s recent trip to Central America was hardly the Margaritaville portrayed in photos. The senator addressed reporters after returning from El Salvador on Friday following his meeting with wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, continuing to call for his return and revealing that the margarita-filled photo op shared by El Salvador president Nayib Bukele was staged. In a desperate bid to prove naysayers wrong, Bukele posted photos of Van Hollen and Abrego Garcia to his X account on Thursday night, showing the men talking at a table with what looks to be margaritas in front of them. Bukele designed the accompanying caption to ridicule critics, making reference to people's concerns that Abrego Garcia had been killed or tortured while being held in CECOT, the country's most notorious maximum security prison. Bukele claimed that, far from coming to harm, Abrego Garcia was now in a 'tropical paradise' and 'sipping margaritas.' After addressing more pressing concerns like Abrego Garcia's wellbeing and legal battle, Van Hollen took some time out of his press conference—while flanked on all sides by Abrego Garcia's loved ones—to address the staged photos, telling reporters how the margarita photo op came to be. 'As we were talking, one of the government people came over and deposited two other glasses on the table, with ice and I don't know if it was salt or sugar round the top, but they look like margaritas,' the senator began. 'Let me just be very clear: neither of us touched the drinks that were in front of us, and if you want to play a little Sherlock Holmes, I'll tell you how you can know that.' He continued, 'If you look at the picture I sent out from the beginning of our meeting, you'll see there are no glasses on the table, so you'll see in later videos they are on the table. But they made a little mistake: if you sip out of one of those glasses, some of whatever it was, salt or sugar, would disappear—you would see a gap. There's no gap. Nobody drank any margaritas or sugar water or whatever it is.' The point of highlighting this, Van Hollen explained, was that it illustrated the lengths Bukele will go to to 'deceive people about what's going on,' as well as just how far President Donald Trump will go, because when asked about the meeting, he just 'went along for the ride,' calling Van Hollen a 'fool' for 'begging for attention from the Fake News Media.' Van Hollen continued, telling reporters that despite the fact the Trump administration has 'been lying about this case from the beginning' and 'trying to change the subject,' ultimately this is about 'adhering to the Constitution, to the right of due process, and that's why we say bring Kilmar home so he can be afforded his rights under the Constitution.'
Fox News
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Sen. Van Hollen pours cold water on ‘margarita-gate' photo-op after El Salvador trip: 'Nobody drank any'
Print Close By Jasmine Baehr Published April 18, 2025 Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., says the margaritas were fake. The outrage, he says, is real. Returning from a highly publicized trip to El Salvador to meet with deported illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Van Hollen addressed reporters Thursday after landing at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. He attempted to set the record straight on what's now being dubbed "margarita-gate," a viral photo posted by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele that appeared to show the senator and Garcia sitting casually at a table with two salt-rimmed drinks. "Let me just be very clear," Van Hollen said. "Neither of us touched the drinks that were in front of us. And if you want to play a little Sherlock Holmes, I'll tell you how you can know that. … If you sip out of one of those glasses, some of whatever it was — salt or sugar — would disappear. You would see a gap. There's no gap. "Nobody drank any margaritas or sugar water or whatever it is." KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA SUSPECTED OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN REPORT OBTAINED BY FOX NEWS Van Hollen claimed the glasses were placed after the meeting began as a staged photo-op, adding that earlier footage shows the table without drinks. Van Hollen accused both El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and the Trump administration of trying to distract from what he described as a constitutional crisis. "This is a lesson into the lengths that President Bukele will do to deceive people," Van Hollen said. "And it also shows the lengths that the Trump administration and the president will go to, because when he was asked by a reporter about this, he just went along for the ride." Trump had his own take, posting on Truth Social Friday, "Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland looked like a fool yesterday standing in El Salvador begging for attention from the Fake News Media, or anyone. GRANDSTANDER!!!" The controversy stems from the case of Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national deported from Maryland last month and placed in the country's notorious CECOT prison. WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BLUNTLY SHOWS WHERE PARTIES STAND ON IMMIGRATION AMID ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION Federal officials have called the deportation an "administrative error" in court. Van Hollen and other Democrats have since argued it violated Garcia's constitutional right to due process. But the Trump administration has pushed back, pointing to Garcia's alleged domestic abuse, gang ties and suspected involvement in human trafficking. A 2022 Homeland Security Investigations report identified Garcia as a member of MS-13 and a suspected human trafficker. A 2021 domestic violence filing, written by his wife, Jennifer Vasquez, claimed, "I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all the bruises he [has] left me." Despite these reports, Van Hollen insists no evidence has been presented in court and that the removal was unlawful. He cited rulings by a federal district court and the U.S. Supreme Court ordering Garcia's return. "The government in this case, the Trump administration, is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process," Van Hollen said, quoting a recent Fourth Circuit decision. "That is the foundation of our constitutional order." He added that Judge Paula Xinis, the federal judge who first reviewed the case, found the administration "offered no evidence linking Abrego Garcia to MS-13 or any terrorist activity." Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador this week after the Salvadoran government initially denied him access to Garcia. After press coverage, he said, officials arranged a meeting at a hotel, which was filmed. He said Salvadoran soldiers had previously stopped him from approaching the prison and that he was surprised by the last-minute permission to meet. He also revealed that the U.S. had committed $15 million to El Salvador to support detention operations and said over $4 million had already been paid. Van Hollen claimed this funding was unauthorized and pledged to oppose future appropriations. "I won't support the use of one penny of taxpayer dollars to keep Abrego Garcia illegally detained in El Salvador," he said. Critics, including Republicans and Trump allies, have questioned why Van Hollen would travel abroad to advocate for someone with alleged gang ties and a record of domestic abuse while remaining silent on victims like Rachel Morin, a Maryland woman murdered by an illegal immigrant in 2023. The White House drew a sharp contrast, posting side-by-side photos of Trump meeting with Morin's mother and Van Hollen meeting with Abrego Garcia. The caption: "We are not the same." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Asked about the comparison, Van Hollen said his "heart breaks" for Morin's family but defended his actions as grounded in the Constitution. "The reason we have courts of law is to punish the guilty, but also to make sure that those who have not committed crimes are not found guilty and arbitrarily detained," he said. Fox News' Rachel Wolf, David Spunt, Greg Norman, Greg Wehner, and Bill Mears contributed to this report. Print Close URL
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
White House Crows at Senator Falling Into Deported Dad Trap
The MAGA universe is cheering El Salvador's president for supposedly getting a Democratic senator from Maryland right where he wanted him. Sen. Chris Van Hollen had flown to El Salvador earlier in the week to try to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the Trump administration has admitted was deported to the notorious CECOT mega-prison because of an 'administrative error.' After initially being denied a meeting with Abrego Garcia, whose wife and 5-year-old son are U.S. citizens, Van Hollen was able to speak with him on Thursday. Democrats cheered the meeting, but according to MAGA, it was all part of an elaborate game of chess on the part of President Donald Trump and El Salvador's Nayib Bukele. 'Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland looked like a fool yesterday standing in El Salvador begging for attention from the Fake News Media, or anyone. GRANDSTANDER!!!' Trump wrote Friday morning on Truth Social. Van Hollen shared a photo on Thursday that showed him sitting at a table in a restaurant speaking to Abrego Garcia, who was wearing a checkered shirt and baseball cap. 'I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar,' he wrote in a post on X. 'Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love.' The photo came as a relief to many social media users, who have become used to seeing images of CECOT prisoners packed onto bare metal cells with their heads shaved wearing spartan white prison uniforms. Inmates are kept in their cells 23 and a half hours a day and are not allowed recreation, visitation, or education. Abrego Garcia and about 240 other men from El Salvador and Venezuela were sent there without warning on March 15. None of the men—including Abrego Garcia—have been allowed to speak to their families or lawyers. 'He's alive' trended on X Thursday night as people reacted to Van Hollen's proof-of-life photo. But Bukele also trolled Van Hollen with three additional, carefully stage-managed photos of the Maryland senator and Abrego Garcia. '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 captioned the photos. In Bukele's photos, Van Hollen and Abrego Garcia are sitting at a table on an outdoor patio with a wall of foliage in the background. In front of each man is a cup of coffee, glass of water, and transparent drink in a cocktail glass with a sugar rim and maraschino cherry. 'Now that he's been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador's custody,' he wrote in a follow-up post. And finally: 'I love chess.' Trump's communications director Steven Cheung and deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino both endorsed the chess post, while MAGA influencers cheered Bukele for supposedly ensnaring Van Hollen. 'Ok you and President Trump are up to something! You did this thing with the gang member on purpose,' a MAGA user with 87,000 followers wrote in a reply to a post from Bukele. 'SHOUTOUT to @nayibbukele for exposing Senator Chris Van Hollen for clearly supporting illegal aliens,' wrote a MAGA account with 1 million followers. 'Well done,' wrote a MAGA user with 342,000 followers. Several others wrote, 'Checkmate.' Other members of Trumpland tried to spin Van Hollen's visit as 'proof' of Democrats' criminal sympathies. 'Chris Van Hollen has firmly established Democrats as the party whose top priority is the welfare of an illegal alien MS-13 terrorist. It is truly disgusting,' White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai wrote in a post on X. White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller also shared a photo of Van Hollen shaking hands with Abrego Garcia and wrote, 'We have one party for Americans. One party for criminal illegal aliens.' The administration has repeatedly called Abrego Garcia a gang member and a terrorist, while only offering third-hand, uncorroborated evidence to support the claims. As the case has played out in court over the past few weeks, the Department of Justice has not presented any evidence in court showing gang affiliations. The government has 'abandoned' its position that he was a 'danger to the community,' a federal appeals court found. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on April 10 that the U.S. government must 'facilitate Abrego Garcia's release from custody in El Salvador.' The Trump administration has refused to provide any information about what steps it's taking, leading to a stinging rebuke Thursday from a federal appeals court. Republicans are nevertheless hoping to make the issue a political loser for Democrats by framing it as a question of illegal immigration and gang violence as opposed to one of constitutional rights and lawlessness, Politico reported. They'd also rather constituents be reading headlines about Abrego Garcia than the stock market plummeting. But Republicans can't escape the economy, former Obama aide and podcaster Jon Favreau argued during Friday's episode of Pod Save America. Voters can see their grocery bills going up and their retirement accounts going down. And even Republican lawmakers are facing a backlash from constituents who are angry about Trump's failure to bring Abrego Garcia home. 'Are you going to bring that guy back from El Salvador?' a middle-aged voter asked Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa during a town hall this week. 'Yeah!' other members of the crowd called out, clapping. 'I'm not going to,' Grassley replied. 'Why not?' 'Well because that's not a power of Congress,' 'The Supreme Court said to bring him back,' the man replied. 'I'm pissed.'
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump White House Lashes Out At Senator Who Visited Wrongly Deported Man In El Salvador
President Donald Trump accused Sen. Chris Van Hollen of political grandstanding after the Maryland Democrat managed to meet this week with an immigrant who had made a life in his state before being wrongfully deported to El Salvador last month. The case sparked fresh fears that the Trump administration is not particularly interested in respecting the rule of law in the United States. The president wrote on his social media platform that the senator 'looked like a fool yesterday standing in El Salvador begging for attention from the Fake News Media, or anyone.' He threw in an insult: 'GRANDSTANDER!!!' Trump also lashed out at the immigrant, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying he was 'not a very innocent guy' on Friday while speaking to reporters. Abrego Garcia was accidentally swept up as the Trump administration flew the first groups of immigrants to a Salvadoran megaprison called CECOT, which has a reputation for human rights abuses. He had not been seen or heard from until Van Hollen shared a photo of himself sitting and speaking with Abrego Garcia on Thursday. The photograph prompted a reply from El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who mocked concerns about Abrego Garcia's well-being. Abrego Garcia appeared dressed neatly in a short-sleeved plaid button-down, jeans and a hat that likely masked the buzz cut all prisoners are given upon entry to CECOT. In the prison, the men are given a plain uniform and not allowed outdoors. Cells in the 40,000-capacity facility can hold up to 70 people. The White House also mocked Van Hollen's trip on X, formerly Twitter, marking up a New York Times headline to label Abrego Garcia an 'MS-13 illegal alien' who is 'never coming back.' Van Hollen was initially rebuffed by Salvadoran officials when he arrived in the country Wednesday asking to meet with Abrego Garcia, a father from El Salvador who is married to a U.S. citizen and was living in Maryland. The senator said he would share more information about the meeting upon his return to the U.S. on Friday. Abrego Garcia had been granted a special protective order by a federal judge in 2019 preventing his deportation to El Salvador out of fear of persecution. While immigration officials offered thin evidence that he was a member of MS-13, he argued that he would be targeted by violent gangs if he returned to his country of origin. The right-leaning U.S. Supreme Court agreed that the Trump administration had to 'facilitate' the immigrant's return, although the case has been sent back to a lower court for further proceedings. At a press conference given before he was allowed to see Abrego Garcia, Van Hollen said he came to El Salvador 'to vouch for the judicial system of the United States, which guarantees individuals the right to due process.' 'We need to make sure that the court system works and due process works, because if you take it away for any individual, it's a very short road to taking it away for everyone in America,' Van Hollen said. 'I should point out that this inability to communicate with his lawyers is a violation of international law. El Salvador is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,' he added, referencing the United Nations treaty. Abrego Garcia's wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, told 'Good Morning America' on Friday that it has been 'overwhelming' to know her husband is alive. 'The most important thing for me, my children, his mom, his brother, his sibling, was to see him alive, and we saw him alive,' she said on air. Speaking to reporters from the White House, Trump on Friday read excerpts from a statement Vasquez Sura gave to police as she sought a protective order from her husband in 2021 for domestic violence. Vasquez Sura has been vocal in her support for Abrego Garcia, and said in a statement to ABC News that her family had worked out the conflict privately. Maryland Sen. Van Hollen Meets With Abrego Garcia In El Salvador Amid Court Fight Over U.S. Return GOP Rep. Won't Authorize Dems' Trip To El Salvador To See Mistakenly Deported Man CNN Data Chief Says Americans Are 'Much Closer' To Trump On This Key Issue
