Maryland senator: Abrego Garcia was traumatized in El Salvador after mistaken deportation

Sen Chris Van Hollen D-Md revealed new details about his meeting this week with Kilmar Abrego Garcia a man who the Trump administration says was mistakenly deported last month Van Hollen met with Abrego Garcia on Thursday after his previous efforts to meet with him were denied by Salvadoran administrators The Maryland senator held a news conference at Washington Dulles International Airport on Friday upon his return from El Salvador where he informed reporters that he met with Abrego Garcia for more than minutes and informed him of the national attention on his affair which the senator revealed Abrego Garcia was unaware of Trump administration hours ago The Abrego Garcia incident pulls Democrats into the immigration debate Trump wants to have Trump administration Apr Appeals court calls Trump administration's defiance over mistakenly deported man shocking' His conversation with me was the first communication he d had with anybody outside of prison since he was abducted Van Hollen commented He stated he felt very sad about being in a prison because he had not committed any crimes Van Hollen advised reporters that Abrego Garcia has experienced trauma and framed his deportation as an illegal abduction Van Hollen noted Abrego Garcia advised him he was OK and had been able to see a medical practitioner for a blood pressure condition The senator announced Abrego Garcia communicated him he was no longer being housed at CECOT a terrorism confinement center and had been transferred more than week ago to another detention center in Santa Ana El Salvador where the conditions are better But he mentioned despite the better conditions he still has no access to any news from the outside world and no ability to communicate with anybody in the outside world Van Hollen explained Abrego Garcia informed Van Hollen that thinking of members of his family gave him the strength to persevere and spoke several times about his -year-old son who was in the car with him when he was detained and has autism the senator noted Van Hollen was joined at his news conference by Abrego Garcia s wife mother and brother whom he commented had been desperate to learn if Abrego Garcia was still alive Images of Van Hollen s meeting with Abrego Garcia on Thursday were first shared by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele who appeared to downplay concerns about Abrego Garcia s confinement in a social media post asserting he was sipping margaritas with Sen Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador Van Hollen on Friday denied that any alcoholic beverages were consumed during the meeting and suggested Bukele s post was an attempt to set up he and Abrego Garcia The senator announced Bukele s aides brought two glasses that looked like margaritas to the table where he and Abrego Garcia were meeting and insisted on having the encounter filmed on video cameras They indeed demanded to have the meeting by the side of the pool Van Hollen mentioned I mean this is a guy who s been in secret This is a guy who s been detained They want to create this appearance that life was just lovely for Kilmar which of discipline is a big lie Representatives for the El Salvador Embassy in Washington D C did not straightaway return a request for comment on Friday evening This story first appeared on NBCNews com More from NBC News As international tourists pull back on US excursion and purchases billion in lost revenue looms Trump is replacing the acting IRS commissioner part of a dispute between Treasury and Elon Musk Trump faces imposing timeline to broker agreement deals in less than days