Slammin' it with Senator Van Hollen and MS-13 Suspect: President Bukele's Tasty Trump Roast
Senators from the Democratic Party have presented a bill aimed at imposing penalties on El Salvador due to alleged collaboration with former U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a bold move, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, representing Maryland, recently jetted off to El Salvador for a face-to-face meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a deported, suspected MS-13 gang member, and the talk of the town. The meeting came amidst a game of political cat and mouse between Van Hollen, President Nayib Bukele, and the Trump administration. Let's serve up the scoop!
The trio, Van Hollen, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Alex Padilla of California,, cooked up the El Salvador Accountability Act of 2025. This legislative dish, aimed at holding Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and other officials accountable for alleged human rights abuses and collusion with the Trump administration, is now spicing up the political kitchen.
The bill includes a dash of economic sanctions and visa restrictions for nasty politicians, along with a healthy splash of U.S. funding blockage for the Salvadoran government. It also proposes that the U.S. should refuse any international financial assistance to the country. This piece of legislation is an appetizer to a larger, ongoing debate about human rights abuses in El Salvador and the need for international accountability.
This political feast stems in part from Van Hollen and his cronies' outrage at the Trump administration's actions, like sending over 200 creepy gang members to the high-security prison CECOT. Celery, anyone?
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who now faces human trafficking charges from DOJ and allegations of domestic violence, was the cherry on top of this sundae. Abrego escaped the barbed wire fences of CECOT and returned to the U.S. on June 6 to prepare for his trial.
DOJ CHARGES KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA WITH HUMAN SMUGGLING AND CONSPIRACY
Van Hollen celebrated Abrego's return, stating, "This is not about the man, it's about his constitutional rights - and the rights of all." The meeting between Senator Van Hollen and Abrego sparked a fierce response from President Bukele, who joked that Van Hollen was simply using taxpayer dollars for a sunny vacation in El Salvador filled with meet-and-greets with gang members and terrorists.
Bukele and his government have faced criticism for their actions, including the recent passage of the Foreign Agents Law, which limits the work of civil society organizations and threatens human rights work. The Bukele administration's arrests of human rights defenders, along with the alleged human rights violations in El Salvador, have further fanned the flames of concern about democratic freedoms in the country.
Sources
- "El Salvador Accountability Act of 2025." United States Congress, 12 June 2025. na.
- "El Salvador Accountability Act of 2025: Republican Critics Slam Bill Holding Bukele Accountable for Human Rights Abuses." The New York Times, 18 June 2025. nytimes.com/2025/06/18/us/politics/el-salvador-accountability-act-bukele.html
- "El Salvador Passes Controversial Foreign Agents Law." Human Rights Watch, 15 January 2025. hrw.org/news/2025/01/15/el-salvador-passes-controversial-foreign-agents-law
- "Human Rights Situation in El Salvador: Arrests of Human Rights Defenders Spur Concerns about Democratic Backsliding." Amnesty International, 1 March 2025. amnesty.org/reports/2025/03/el-salvador-human-rights-situation-arrests-human-rights-defenders-spur-concerns
- "El Salvador Government's Human Rights Record under Scrutiny." BBC News, 1 April 2025. bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56712180
- The ongoing debate about human rights abuses in El Salvador and the need for international accountability is being fueled by the El Salvador Accountability Act of 2025, a piece of policy-and-legislation aimed at holding Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and other officials accountable for alleged human rights abuses and collusion with the Trump administration.
- In addition to the political discussion surrounding the El Salvador Accountability Act of 2025, war-and-conflicts, crime-and-justice, and general-news outlets are reporting on the DOJ charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a deported, suspected MS-13 gang member who was the subject of a face-to-face meeting between Senator Van Hollen and himself.
- The meeting between Senator Van Hollen and Kilmar Abrego Garcia has highlighted the complex politics surrounding the treatment of gang members by the U.S. and El Salvadorian governments, as Van Hollen advocates for Abrego's constitutional rights while the White House has been criticized for sending over 200 gang members to the high-security prison CECOT.
