Sen Chris Van Hollen says 'Margarita-gate' photo op with deported immigrant was 'set up' to spark outrage

DULLES, VIRGINIA: Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen has denied drinking margaritas with Kilmar Abrego Garcia during their meeting in El Salvador, where the latter is being held at the mega-prison, Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT).

After his highly publicized meeting, the 66-year-old politician returned on Friday, April 18, and spoke with reporters at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, as reported by Fox News.

Van Hollen addressed the now-viral photo of him shared by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele that seemed to show the Democrat and the man, who was apparently wrongly deported by the US government, sitting at a table while two salt-rimmed drinks were in front of them.

Chris Van Hollen claims 'nobody drank any margaritas or sugar water' during visit with Kilmar Abrego Garcia

During the presser, Chris Van Hollen said, "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."

"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 senator asserted.

Calling the placement of glasses a staged photo-op, Van Hollen accused Bukele as well as President Donald Trump of trying to distract from the actual issue.

Chris Van Hollen calls out Nayib Bukele and Donald Trump for trying to 'deceive' people

Chris Van Hollen said, "This is a lesson into the lengths that President Bukele will do to deceive people."

"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," he stated.

Also, before his return, he had tweeted, "I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. 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."

The commander-in-chief did not steer away from taking a shot at Van Hollen as he posted on Truth Social, "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!!!"

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported on suspicion of ties to MS-13 gang

The whole issue began after Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national who has admitted to entering the US illegally in 2012, was deported to El Salvador in March.

Federal officials later called the deportation an "administrative error" in court, but the Trump administration has denied it.

The president has even claimed "that prisoner's record is unbelievably bad," as per ABC news.

In a 2022 Homeland Security Investigations' Combined Intelligence Unit (CIU) Investigative Referral report, Garcia was identified as a member of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), a transnational criminal gang. He was also suspected of being involved in human trafficking. 

However, Garcia has not been convicted of any crime.

Supreme Court ordered Donald Trump administration must 'facilitate' return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia 

Chris Van Hollen has insisted on Kilmar Abrego Garcia's innocence and also cited rulings by a federal district court and the US Supreme Court that ordered the Donald Trump administration to "facilitate and effectuate" his return to the US.

Last week, the SCOTUS said, "The [district court] order properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador," as reported by CNBC.

Doubling down on Garcia's deportation, Trump shared a purported photo of Garcia's hand with MS-13 tattoos. The president wrote, "This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such ‘a fine and innocent person.'" 

"They said he is not a member of MS-13, even though he’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles, and two Highly Respected Courts found that he was a member of MS-13, beat up his wife, etc," he claimed.

The Republican leader also asserted that he was "elected to take bad people out of the United States, among other things. I must be allowed to do my job. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Internet accuses Senator Chris Van Hollen of ignoring his constituents in favor of 'gang members'

Meanwhile, people online have slammed Hollen with one posting two photos of him meeting the deported man as they wrote, "Notice how Chris Van Hollen very conspicuously chose a photo *without* margaritas in it."

Another critic said, "Again I ask, Why are they in (what appears to be) a public restaurant instead of a secure room at the prison? No guards, no security, etc. Something just isn’t right here."

"This Senator is a sleeze," a person declared. 

“Thank you, Ambassador for proving he was a MS13 gang member," an individual remarked, sharing a close-up of the purported MS-13 tattoos. 

"What’s next? Abregos García’s tattoos were done while he was in CECOT?" one more asked. 

"I don’t care if they drank margaritas or not. The point is that he’s down in El Salvador shilling for Gang members when people in his OWN state lost their family members to that same gang he’s on his knees for. 😡 Who cares what they ate and drank at the meeting? He was still there and THAT says everything about this POS!" another tweet read. 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.