Senator shares shocking claim over why El Salvador won't release innocent man held captive in 'world's worst prison'

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen has spoken out about the horrifying extent of which the Trump administration is allegedly in 'violation of American court orders' in relation to the notorious El Salvador prison.

Donald Trump wasted no time after becoming 47th President of the US enacting mass deportations using a law last invoked in World War II.

So far, over 250 alleged criminals have been deported to the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT) - considered the 'world's worst prison' - in El Salvador.

And last month, a man named Kilmar Armando Ábrego García, from Maryland, was sent to there by mistake.

Despite Trump's administration admitting to an 'admin error' and the Supreme Court ruling it must 'facilitate' Ábrego García's return, the husband and dad has yet to be released.

And Senator Van Hollen has since alleged he was denied a meeting with wrongfully deported Ábrego García, accusing Trump's administration of a lot more than simply not helping 'facilitate' his release.

Senator Van Hollen claims El Salvador's Vice President Félix Ulloa denied him a visit to see Ábrego García, alongside allegedly denying him a phone call - 'either video phone or just a phone' to talk to him.

Branding the situation 'unjust,' Van Hollen detailed to press: "The courts of the United States have said there's no evidence to support the charge that [Ábrego García] is part of MS13 [an international criminal gang] so I asked the vice president whether or not El Salvador has any evidence that he's part of MS13 or has committed a crime."

Van Hollen questioned the vice president why El Salvador is 'continuing to hold' Ábrego García in CECOT if he's not committed a crime and it's been ruled by the US courts he was 'illegally taken from the US' alongside the government of El Salvador having 'no evidence that he was part of MS13'.

The Supreme Court ruled Trump's administration need to 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia's return (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The Supreme Court ruled Trump's administration need to 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia's return (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Van Hollen claims the vice president's answer was: "The Trump administration is paying El Salvador - the government of El Salvador - to keep him at CECOT."

Van Hollen continued: "I pointed out that neither the government of El Salvador nor the Trump administration has presented evidence to support the claim that he's committed any sort of criminal act and so why not release Ábrego García today?

"And he said what President Bukele said the other day, at the White House, which is El Salvador can't smuggle Abrego Garcia into the United States."

Van Hollen denied asking El Salvador to 'smuggle' Ábrego García into the United States, noting he's 'simply asking them to open the door' of the prison and let the 'innocent man walk out' - adding the 'Attorney General of the United States, Pam Bondi, has said that the US would send a plane to El Salvador to pick him up'.

Van Hollen accuses Trump's administration of showing 'no evidence' it is 'complying' with the Supreme Court's order for it to 'facilitate' Ábrego García's release.

BREAKING: Senator @ChrisVanHollen just met with El Salvador's Vice President Félix Ulloa, and get this...

The VP told Van Hollen that the reason they are holding Kilmar Abrego Garcia at CECOT is because the Trump administration is paying them to do so.

They also provided no… pic.twitter.com/mHeN9dEB8F
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) April 16, 2025

And even further, he alleges the US embassy in El Salvador has said 'it's received no direction from the Trump administration to help facilitate his release'.

Van Hollen resolved: "So the Trump administration is clearly in violation of American court orders.

"But that still leaves the question - why is the government of El Salvador continuing to imprison a man where they have no evidence he's committed any crime and they've not been provided any evidence from the United States that he's committed a crime."

UNILAD has contacted the White House and El Salvador's government for comment.