The Salvadoran government on Wednesday rebuffed Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s (D-Md.) request to meet or speak with a wrongfully deported Maryland man, the senator said, accusing the Trump administration and others of lying about Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s gang ties.

Van Hollen said Salvadoran Vice President Félix Ulloa told him the government had no information connecting Abrego Garcia to MS-13 but could not accommodate a visit to the notorious CECOT prison, known by its acronym in Spanish.

“If the government of El Salvador has no evidence that he was part of MS-13, why is El Salvador continuing to hold him in CECOT?” Van Hollen asked.

“And his answer was that the Trump administration is paying the government of El Salvador to keep him at CECOT.”

The fiery press conference was in many ways a rebuttal to numerous Trump administration claims, with Van Hollen directly pleading for Abrego Garcia’s release and accusing the Trump administration of violating a Supreme Court order by failing to do anything to facilitate his return.

Van Hollen left for El Salvador around 6 a.m. EDT Wednesday after saying he would travel to the country if Abrego Garcia was not returned by midweek.

Ulloa told Van Hollen he would need more time to arrange a visit to CECOT and said even a phone call with the senator or with his family back in Maryland couldn’t be arranged swiftly, saying the request would need to come from the embassy, Van Hollen said.

Van Hollen also asked if he could meet with Abrego Garcia next week if he returned to El Salvador, but indicated that was unlikely.

“I asked if I came back next week whether I’d be able to see Mr. Abrego Garcia. He said he couldn’t promise that either,” he continued.

That rejection comes weeks after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was able to visit CECOT during a visit to the country, filming a video inside the prison to warn migrants not to come to the U.S.

Van Hollen said embassy staff members informed him that they have received no directive from the Trump administration to make outreach on Abrego Garcia’s behalf despite a Supreme Court order to “facilitate” his return.

“In fact, the United States Embassy here has told me they’ve received no direction from the Trump administration to help facilitate his release. So the Trump administration is clearly in violation of American court orders,” he said.

Van Hollen also accused the Trump administration of lying about Abrego Garcia’s background.

“I want to emphasize that President Trump and our Attorney General Pam Bondi and the vice president of the United States are lying when they say that Abrego Garcia has been charged with a crime or was part of MS-13. That is a lie,” he said.

“This is a lie to cover up what they did.”

Van Hollen noted that an immigration judge barred Abrego Garcia from being deported to El Salvador, given credible claims he would be targeted by gang violence. His family fled El Salvador when another gang, Barrio 18, repeatedly targeted their pupusa business for money. Van Hollen noted that the protection from removal was issued in 2019, under the first Trump administration, and that prosecutors at the time declined to appeal that decision.

“The Trump administration needs to obey the law, but I’m also asking the government of El Salvador, and the president and vice president of El Salvador, not to keep a man who was illegally abducted from the United States and charged with no crime to remain in CECOT when, as a sovereign country, they have the power to let him go and let him go now.”

The visit came days after Van Hollen indicated he would travel to the Central American country if he was unable to meet and speak with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele during his visit to the U.S. earlier this week. The two did not meet.

Van Hollen also noted he met with the Ulloa as Bukele was out of the country.

Van Hollen’s play-by-play of the conversation indicated he made multiple efforts to arrange contact with Abrego Garcia, either himself or the family, but was repeatedly told no.

“I also told his wife and family that I would try to meet with Mr. Abrego Garcia while I was here. … I asked the vice president if he could meet with Mr. Abrego Garcia … and he said, ‘Well you have to make earlier provisions to go visit CECOT,’” Van Hollen said. “I said I’m not interested at this moment in taking a tour of CECOT. I just want to meet with Mr. Abrego Garcia. He said he was not able to make that happen. He said he needed a little bit more time.”

“I asked him if I could get on the phone — either a video phone or just a phone — and talk with Mr. Abrego Garcia … so I could just ask him how he’s doing so I could report back to his family. He said he could not arrange that,” the Maryland Democrat said. “He said maybe if the American Embassy could ask, maybe that could happen.”

When asked if he received any information about the health status of Abrego Garcia, the Democratic senator said he did not.

“This is why I wanted to see him,” he added.

Van Hollen said he would continue to press for Abrego Garcia’s release and noted there has been interest from other lawmakers in visiting the country.

“I will keep pressing in my remaining time here, and I will keep pressing beyond that, if necessary,” he said.

“I may be the first United States senator to visit El Salvador on this issue, but there will be more, and there will be more members of Congress coming.”

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