'The Trump Administration Is Paying El Salvador To Keep Him At CECOT': Chris Van Hollen On Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Forbes Breaking News

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) detailed his conversation with El Salvador's VP about the country's continued detention of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in CECOT, and condemned the Trump Administration for not securing his return to the US.

Transcript

00:00Now, the courts of the United States have said there's no evidence to support the charge

00:06that he's part of MS-13.

00:08So I asked the vice president whether or not El Salvador has any evidence that he's part

00:15of MS-13 or has committed a crime.

00:30So I asked the vice president if Abrego Garcia has not committed a crime and the U.S.

00:47courts have found that he was illegally taken for the United States and the governor government

00:53of El Salvador has no evidence that he was part of MS-13.

00:59Why is El Salvador continuing to hold him in CICOTE?

01:03And his answer was that the Trump administration is paying

01:29El Salvador, the government of El Salvador, to keep him at CICOTE.

01:36And I pointed out that neither the government of El Salvador nor the Trump administration

01:55has presented evidence to support the claim that he's committed any kind of criminal act.

02:00And so why not release Abrego Garcia today?

02:16And he said what President Bukele said the other day at the White House, which that El Salvador

02:33can't smuggle Mr. Abrego Garcia into the United States.

02:36And I said I'm not asking him to smuggle Mr. Abrego Garcia into the United States.

02:48I'm simply asking him to open the door of CICOTE and let this innocent man walk out.

02:55And I pointed out that the Attorney General of the United States, Pam Bondi, has said that

03:10the United States would send a plane to El Salvador to pick him up.

03:16And why did she do that?

03:27Because the Supreme Court of the United States, in a ruling of 9 to 0, has said that the Trump

03:33administration has to facilitate his return to the United States.

03:37Now, there's no evidence that the Trump administration is complying with that order.

03:58In fact, the United States embassy here has told me they've received no direction from

04:17the Trump administration to help facilitate his release.

04:21So the Trump administration is clearly in violation of American court orders.

04:35But that still leaves the question, why is the government of El Salvador continuing to

04:50imprison a man where they have no evidence that he's committed any crime and they've not

04:56been provided any evidence from the United States that he's committed a crime?

05:00Yeah.

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