‘Margarita-gate’: Van Hollen Slams Staged Optics in Garcia Assembly
San Salvador, El Salvador – April 19, 2025
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has accused El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and the Trump administration of orchestrating a misleading photo-op throughout his assembly with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man wrongfully deported to El Salvador. The incident, dubbed “Margarita-gate,” facilities on a viral photograph posted by Bukele displaying the senator and Garcia seated at a desk with what seemed to be margarita glasses, suggesting an off-the-cuff, carefree encounter. Van Hollen vehemently denies the insinuation, calling it a deliberate setup to undermine his advocacy for Garcia’s return to america.
Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador on April 16, 2025, to satisfy Garcia, a authorized U.S. resident detained within the infamous Terrorism Confinement Heart (CECOT) after what federal officers admitted was an “administrative error” in his deportation. The Supreme Court docket unanimously dominated on April 10 that Garcia’s deportation was unlawful, ordering the U.S. authorities to facilitate his return. Nonetheless, the Trump administration has resisted, citing unproven allegations of Garcia’s involvement with the MS-13 gang—claims denied by Garcia’s household, attorneys, and absent from courtroom paperwork.
The assembly, organized abruptly on April 17 after Van Hollen was denied entry to CECOT, passed off at a resort in San Salvador. In line with the senator, Salvadoran officers initially proposed holding the dialogue poolside to challenge a relaxed ambiance, which he rejected in favor of an indoor eating space. In the course of the assembly, Van Hollen and Garcia had solely water and occasional on the desk, as proven in a photograph the senator posted on X. Nonetheless, partway via, an official positioned two salt-rimmed glasses with ice and liquid in entrance of them, which Bukele later claimed had been margaritas.
“They tried to make it appear like Kilmar drank out of it,” Van Hollen mentioned at a press convention upon his return to Dulles Worldwide Airport on April 18. He identified that the glass in entrance of Garcia had much less liquid, however the salt rim remained intact—a element he known as a “Sherlock Holmes second.” “If you happen to sip out of a type of glasses, a few of the salt or sugar would disappear. There’s no hole. Nobody drank something,” he defined, emphasizing that neither he nor Garcia touched the drinks.
Bukele’s put up on X mocked the assembly, stating, “Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the ‘demise camps’ & ‘torture,’ now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen within the tropical paradise of El Salvador!” The put up, amplified by Trump-aligned accounts like Libs of TikTok, sparked outrage amongst conservative commentators who accused Van Hollen of trivializing Garcia’s detention. President Trump, when requested concerning the photograph, known as Van Hollen “faux” and reiterated disputed claims about Garcia’s alleged gang ties, saying, “That prisoner’s report is unbelievably dangerous.”
Van Hollen condemned the stunt as a distraction from the true problem: the U.S. authorities’s failure to adjust to the Supreme Court docket’s order. “This can be a lesson within the lengths that President Bukele will go to deceive individuals about what’s happening, and it exhibits the lengths the Trump administration will go to,” he mentioned. He careworn that Garcia’s case isn’t just about one particular person however about “defending the constitutional rights of everybody who resides in america of America.”
Garcia, a 29-year-old father of three, informed Van Hollen he was “traumatized” by his time in CECOT, the place he was held in a cell with about 25 others and taunted by prisoners in different cell blocks. He was transferred to a special facility with higher circumstances 9 days earlier than the assembly however stays unable to contact his household or a lawyer, which Van Hollen known as a violation of worldwide legislation. Garcia’s spouse, Jennifer Vasquez, tearfully stood by Van Hollen on the press convention, because the senator relayed her husband’s message of affection and his willpower to persevere.
The Salvadoran authorities has not responded to Van Hollen’s allegations concerning the staged photograph. In the meantime, the controversy has fueled a broader debate about due course of and the therapy of deportees. Van Hollen and different Democrats argue that Garcia’s case highlights a constitutional disaster, whereas the Trump administration continues to level to allegations of home abuse and human trafficking from a 2021 home violence submitting and a 2022 Homeland Safety Investigations report—none of which have been substantiated in courtroom.
As “Margarita-gate” developments on X, with customers like @saras76 mocking Van Hollen’s detailed protection and others like @Meidas_LaurenA highlighting Bukele’s function, the incident underscores the ability of optics in shaping public narratives. For Van Hollen, the main target stays on bringing Garcia residence. “This can be a man who’s been detained in CECOT,” he mentioned. “They wish to create this look that life was simply pretty for Kilmar, which, after all, is an enormous fats lie.”
Sources: ABC Information, Fox Information, Mediaite, Rolling Stone, MSNBC, CNN, Latin Occasions, Each day Mail, Sky Information
