MS-13 suspect Kilmar Abrego Garcia was spotted sharing drinks with Senator Chris Van Hollen during the lawmaker’s visit to El Salvador this week, according to images posted online by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele.
Bukele posted three photographs that appeared to show Van Hollen (D-Md.) seated with Abrego Garcia, who was recently deported to El Salvador’s infamous mega-prison despite legal challenges. The two were pictured sitting in a relaxed outdoor setting, holding glasses rimmed with salt and garnished with cherries, sparking online controversy.
“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 wrote Thursday night in a post on X.
In a follow-up message, Bukele added, “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody,” reiterating his refusal to send Abrego Garcia back to the U.S.
Van Hollen’s trip to El Salvador was aimed at advocating for Abrego Garcia’s release, despite the administration’s deportation of him last month and allegations tying him to the MS-13 gang.
The senator’s visit drew intense criticism from Patty Morin, whose daughter Rachel Morin was brutally murdered by Victor Martinez-Hernandez, another Salvadoran national. Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty this week of the 2023 slaying in Maryland.
“I just don’t understand this,” Morin told the White House press corps, expressing outrage that Van Hollen “didn’t even acknowledge” her daughter’s tragic death.
She condemned the senator’s actions, saying he “used my tax money to fly to El Salvador to bring back a person … who isn’t even an American citizen.”
The White House also criticized Van Hollen’s meeting with Abrego Garcia, accusing the senator of siding with a dangerous individual rather than protecting American interests.
“Chris Van Hollen has firmly established Democrats as the party whose top priority is the welfare of an illegal alien MS-13 terrorist,” the White House said in a statement to The Post.
“It is truly disgusting. President Trump will continue to stand on the side of law-abiding Americans.”
Van Hollen, meanwhile, posted his own photo from the meeting, which showed Abrego Garcia dressed casually in jeans, sneakers, a colorful shirt, and a Kansas City Super Bowl cap.
“I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar,” the senator wrote on X, along with a photo of them seated at an outdoor table with what looked like glasses of water and coffee.
“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.”
Abrego Garcia had been living in Maryland with his family before being sent to El Salvador along with over 250 other alleged gang affiliates under the Alien Enemies Act—despite never being charged and consistently denying any gang involvement.
According to the Trump administration, Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13 and was unlawfully residing in the U.S. at the time of his deportation. Officials have continued to reject calls for his return, even after acknowledging that his removal was the result of a “clerical error.”
That deportation also went against a 2019 court ruling that prohibited his removal due to potential retaliation he could face from gangs if sent back to El Salvador.
During a visit to the White House earlier this week, Bukele dismissed calls to return Abrego Garcia, saying the demand was “preposterous.”
As debate over the case continues, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi released documents on Wednesday that claim Abrego Garcia held the MS-13 rank of “Chequeo” in 2019 and was known by the alias “Chele.”
The Department of Homeland Security further disclosed that Abrego Garcia had been accused of domestic violence in 2021, prompting his wife to seek a protective order.
His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, who has publicly advocated for his return, told The Post that she filed for protection “out of caution,” citing previous abuse she had endured in another relationship.
Despite this, she pushed back against immigration authorities, saying her husband’s alleged actions “is not justification for ICE’s actions of abducting him and deporting him to a country where he was supposed to be protected from deportation.”

{Matzav.com}