US Sen. Chris Van Hollen told reporters in El Salvador Wednesday that he was unable to visit Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia in the maximum-security mega-prison where he is being held.
Van Hollen said he specifically asked Salvadoran Vice President Felix Ulloa if he could meet with Abrego Garcia or at least speak with him over the phone or via video conferencing. Again, Van Hollen said the request was denied.
Pressed on whether he had concerns about the man’s health, Van Hollen said: “I don’t know about his health status which is why I wanted to meet with him directly.”
The senator’s trip swiftly drew the ire of the White House.
Communications director Steven Cheung called Van Hollen “a complete disgrace” and the Office of Communications accused the senator in a statement of a lack of concern regarding crimes they say were committed by undocumented immigrants against his constituents. Abrego Garcia has not been charged with any crimes in the United States, according to his lawyers.
OP editorializing here: Homie is definitely dead.
You know it’s serious when ire is being drawn. Usually, that’s not in body copy because it’s such an anachronism (ask me about Solons!), but in a 1-42-4, “draws ire” can save your ass given a condensed hed font.
The game being played here is unclear. This is like the final battle between Hanlon and Occam.
Let me see, Hanlon’s would hold that Trump and Ulloa are just being stupid and obtuse about this rather than malicious. Occam’s razor, on the other hand, would hold that his being dead is at least as likely as any other explanation. Yeah, that’s fair, though I kinda lean towards Occam, given how they’re acting about this.
There’s also something of a middle answer: Trump & co. don’t know where Garcia is because they haven’t tried to find him. Why would they? They don’t care, and neither does El Salvador.
The sad reality is we have no call over any of this. It seems we’re doomed to define this for at least the next 3.72 years.