US senator lands in El Salvador seeking release of wrongly deported Salvadoran man

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen arrived successful El Salvador connected Wednesday greeting saying helium would question to conscionable with elder officials from the Central American state to unafraid the merchandise of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran antheral mistakenly deported and being held successful a notorious prison.

"I conscionable arrived successful San Salvador a small portion agone and look guardant to gathering with the U.S. Embassy squad to sermon Mr. Abrego Garcia's release," Van Hollen, of Maryland, who is simply a subordinate of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said successful a connection connected his X account.

"I told his woman and household that I would bash everything imaginable to bring him home," helium added. "And we volition proceed moving toward that extremity until we execute it."

The authorities of El Salvador did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected Van Hollen's visit.

After Washington acknowledged Abrego Garcia had been deported owed to an "administrative error," the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an bid by Judge Paula Xinis directing the authorities to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return.

In a gathering with President Donald Trump astatine the White House connected Monday, El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, said helium had nary plans to instrumentality Abrego Garcia. Earlier connected Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said successful a tribunal filing that it "does not person authorization to forcibly" bring Abrego Garcia back.

On Tuesday, Xinis said she would not instantly clasp the authorities successful contempt of court, but said determination was nary grounds the Trump medication had tried to retrieve Abrego Garcia and said she would not tolerate "gamesmanship oregon grandstanding."

Along with Abrego Garcia, the Trump medication has deported hundreds of people, mostly Venezuelans, whom it says are pack members to El Salvador nether the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 without presenting grounds and without a trial.

Neither authorities has released the names of the men incarcerated, and the men person not had entree to lawyers oregon immoderate interaction with the extracurricular satellite since arriving astatine the prison.

In March, aft a justice said flights carrying migrants prosecuted nether the Alien Enemies Act should instrumentality to the United States, Bukele wrote connected X that it was excessively late, alongside images showing men being rushed disconnected a level successful the dark.

A national justice connected Wednesday said officials successful Trump's medication could look transgression prosecution for contempt of tribunal for violating his bid past period halting deportations of Venezuelan migrants nether the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law.

Abrego Garcia, 29, near El Salvador astatine property 16 to flight gang-related violence. He was granted a protective bid successful 2019 to proceed surviving successful the United States. He has ne'er been charged with oregon convicted of immoderate crime, according to Abrego Garcia's lawyers, who person denied the Justice Department's allegation that helium is simply a subordinate of the transgression pack MS-13.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was to conscionable aboriginal connected Wednesday with El Salvador's curate of nationalist defense, Rene Merino, astatine the Pentagon.

(Reporting by Nelson Renteria successful San Salvador and Diego Ore successful Mexico City; further reporting by Idrees Ali successful Washington; Writing by Sarah Kinosian; Editing by Leslie Adler)