I wrote most of this post earlier on Thursday, when Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) had twice been denied access to Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia. This, despite his illegal deportation to El Salvador’s notorious torture prison in what the Trump administration had called an “administrative error.”

It was beyond suspicious that El Salvador, the Trump administration and the Republicans were doing their best to keep Abrego Garcia hidden. The fact that he was finally allowed to meet with Van Hollen suggests that the pressure is working. Still, we need to know what conditions Abrego Garcia was previously held under and whether they have improved since Van Hollen shone such a bright spotlight on an apparent plot to keep him disappeared.

The Trump administration refuses to bring Abrego Garcia back, despite numerous court orders and threat of contempt proceedings. Trump and his toadies are ridiculously claiming they have no power to get him back from El Salvador.

In a press conference earlier on Thursday, Van Hollen said he made a second, unsuccessful attempt to make contact with Abrego Garcia. When Van Hollen and the lawyer for his wife and mother went to the notorious CECOT torture prison in which Abrego Garcia is being held, Van Hollen said, “we were stopped by soldiers at a checkpoint about three kilometers from CECOT prison. We were told by the soldiers that they’d been ordered not to allow to proceed any further than that point.”

Yet other cars were allowed to proceed.

In his pre-meeting presser, Van Hollen went on to point out that since his abduction and imprisonment, Abrego Garcia “has had no communication with anybody on the outside. His wife and his lawyers have tried to make contact with him. They’ve not been able to.”

This is a violation of international law, Van Hollen said. He should know. He’s a graduate of both the John F. Kennedy School of Public Policy at Harvard University and Georgetown University Law Center. Van Hollen added, “El Salvador has signed and ratified that covenant” that says, “and I quote, ‘a detained or imprisoned person shall be entitled to communicate and consult with his legal counsel.’”

“So, there’s been no ability to find out anything about his health and well-being, almost none,” Van Hollen said. “The U.S. embassy here has not been asked by the Trump administration to inquire about his health and well-being.”

Now House Republicans are blocking House Democrats from making an official trip to CECOT - even though House Republicans just went there.

This is no time to let up on the pressure. Van Hollen's Blue Sky post said nothing about Abrego Garcia's condition, which is not encouraging.

Nor are El Salvador's sadistically snarky tweets:

Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody 🇺🇸🤝🏼🇸🇻 https://t.co/2xVt4SNOGn

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) April 18, 2025