Carlos Cartagena López, a prominent El Salvador gang leader, gave an interview detailing his gang’s secret pact with President Nayib Bukele, revealing how they allegedly helped Bukele rise to power in exchange for favors. This pact, involving warnings of police operations and community projects, allegedly included gang intimidation of political opponents to secure Bukele’s electoral victories. López’s release from prison, despite accusations of homicide and extortion, further underscores the clandestine nature of this relationship. The revelation comes amidst a brutal government crackdown resulting in tens of thousands of arrests under inhumane conditions and hundreds of deaths, highlighting the ongoing consequences of this political alliance. The interview adds crucial details to existing evidence of Bukele’s dealings with gangs, underscoring the urgent need for further investigation into this complex situation.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) jeopardized the safety of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s family by publicly posting his wife’s address on X, forcing them into a safe house. This action followed the administration’s controversial deportation of Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, despite prior court orders blocking his removal. The DHS justified the deportation using unsubstantiated allegations of criminality, claims disputed by his wife, who described the incident leading to a protective order as isolated and attributed to stress. Democratic officials and advocates criticize the process as a denial of due process.
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Four House Democrats traveled to El Salvador to demand the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen wrongfully deported by the Trump administration despite a Supreme Court order for his return. The Democrats aim to pressure the White House to comply with the court ruling, which was further supported by a recent federal court decision rejecting the administration’s appeal. Abrego Garcia’s deportation stemmed from what the administration called an “administrative error,” despite an immigration judge’s ruling against deportation due to potential persecution. The trip is privately funded after Republican committee chairs rejected funding requests.
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El Salvador’s President Bukele proposed a prisoner exchange with Venezuela: 252 Venezuelan deportees held in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center would be repatriated in exchange for the release of an equal number of Venezuelan political prisoners. This offer, made via social media, includes nearly 50 prisoners of other nationalities. The proposal follows recent mass deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members from the US to El Salvador under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, a move condemned by Maduro as human rights abuse. Venezuela’s chief prosecutor criticized the offer, questioning the legal processes afforded the deportees.
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Representative Mike Collins mistakenly Photoshopped a Senate office plaque, intending to mock Senator Chris Van Hollen’s visit to El Salvador to see a deported constituent. Instead of altering Van Hollen’s plaque, Collins digitally altered the plaque of Republican Senator Rick Scott, a past political ally. The altered image showed “El Salvador” replacing Scott’s constituency information. This error followed Collins’s previous accusations that Van Hollen was consorting with an MS-13 gang member, a claim that lacks supporting evidence.
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El Salvador’s proposal to send US-deported Venezuelans back to Venezuela presents a complex situation rife with ethical and political considerations. The core of the issue lies in the initial decision to detain these Venezuelans in El Salvador without due process, raising serious human rights concerns. The lack of trials or convictions before imprisonment suggests a system prioritizing expediency over justice, transforming the deportation process into something far more sinister.
This raises the question of why El Salvador became involved in this process in the first place, accepting deportees into its prisons without a clear legal framework. The suspicion that financial incentives played a role, perhaps involving a payment from the US, further muddies the waters.… Continue reading
Senator Chris Van Hollen visited El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man illegally imprisoned there by the Trump administration despite a Supreme Court order for his return. Van Hollen’s meeting revealed Abrego Garcia’s detention in harsh conditions at CECOT, a notorious prison, with the Salvadoran government admitting to holding him due to US payments. The Trump administration’s claims of Abrego Garcia’s gang affiliation are contradicted by a federal judge’s ruling and the appeals court’s condemnation of the administration’s actions as lawless. Van Hollen exposed attempts by Salvadoran President Bukele to stage a misleading image of Abrego Garcia’s well-being.
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Following a Supreme Court ruling ordering his return, Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, mistakenly deported to El Salvador, was visited there by Senator Chris Van Hollen. President Trump criticized Van Hollen’s visit on Truth Social, accusing him of grandstanding. El Salvadoran President Bukele, who also commented on the meeting, confirmed Abrego Garcia would remain in custody despite the Supreme Court’s decision. The White House continues to assert Abrego Garcia’s affiliation with MS-13 as justification for his continued detention.
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Following a meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, Senator Chris Van Hollen reported that the wrongly deported Maryland steelworker has been transferred from the abusive CECOT prison to a lower-security facility in Santa Ana. Despite improved conditions, Abrego Garcia remains isolated and cut off from outside communication. Van Hollen criticized both the Salvadoran government, alleging payment for detention, and the Trump administration for its refusal to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return despite acknowledging the deportation error. The Senator emphasized the case highlights broader threats to constitutional rights.
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Following days of uncertainty, Senator Chris Van Hollen met with Kilmar Abrego García in El Salvador, as confirmed by photos posted by President Bukele. The meeting occurred after the Senator’s earlier attempt to visit Abrego García in prison was denied. This visit followed a Supreme Court ruling ordering Abrego García’s return to the U.S., a ruling the Trump administration and Bukele have resisted, citing unsubstantiated claims of MS-13 affiliation. Despite these ongoing disputes, Senator Van Hollen relayed a message of love to Abrego Garcia’s wife.
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John Q. Hosedrinker 
Matt Underwood