Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

The words do not have to be perfect.

The National Guard is not Batman.

You are here: Home / Justice / Criminal Justice / Chris Van Hollen Press Conference (LIVE)

Reader Interactions

71Comments

  1. 1.

    WaterGirl

    Not just about one man.  If you deny rights of one man, you threaten those rights for everyone in America.

  2. 2.

    WaterGirl

    We must all be prepared to take risks because of the current risk to our constitution itself.

  5. 5.

    Ruckus

    @JoyceH:

    A lot of people can be impressive when they speak for a couple of reasons.

    First, they really believe in what they are talking about.

    Second, they really know what they are talking about.

    (Those are interchangeable between first and second, they both have the same level of importance)

  6. 6.

    different-church-lady

    @WaterGirl: ​

    If you deny rights of one man, you threaten those rights for everyone in America.

    And that, very precisely, is their goal.

  7. 7.

    cain

    A govt that just halls you off the streets and puts you in a foreign prison with no courts or anything is not a republic or democracy by the people or for the people. This is a lawless regime.

    I see even the GOP is slowly starting to get it.. but seems lost.

  8. 8.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @different-church-lady:

    And that, very precisely, is their goal.

    And to quote a sign I saw at the Denver Hands Off rally:

    This is the kind of government our Founders warned us about.

  10. 10.

    rikyrah

    @cain:

    I see even the GOP is slowly starting to get it.. but seems lost.

     

    Twisting themselves into pretzels to try and justify it.

    That’s why I always bring up Mr. Garcia being

    A MUTHAPHUCKIN’ ADMINISTRATIVE ERROR

    Purse the lips and wait for the mental gymnastics for justification

  11. 11.

    Martin

    Anyone got a New Yorker sub? They have a story up that from the lede suggests the Trump admin had a leader of MS-13 in the country for trial in 2020, learned the gang had a deal with Bukele, and returned them to El Salvador. 

    Apparently he was re-arrested by the US last year for trial, and last month was re-deported to El Salvador.

    Can we move up enemy action to twice on a matter like this?

    In one such deal negotiated between top MS-13 leaders and Bukele government officials, gang leaders “negotiated with high-level government officials for financial benefits, control of territory, less restrictive prison conditions” to enable MS-13 leaders to keep controlling gang operations, according to a separate 2022 Brooklyn indictment of MS-13 leaders. Gang leaders also “demanded that the government of El Salvador refuse to extradite MS-13 leaders,” to the US for prosecution, the indictment says.
    “In exchange, MS-13 leaders agreed to reduce the number of public murders in El Salvador, which politically benefitted the government of El Salvador, by creating the perception that the government was reducing the murder rate. When in fact, MS-13 leaders continued to authorize murders where the victims’ bodies were buried or otherwise hidden,” the 2022 indictment says. Gang leaders also agreed to use their influence to direct gang members and their families to support Nuevas Ideas, Bukele’s political party in legislative elections, the indictment says

    Note, the deal doesn’t reduce the number of crimes that MS-13 is conducting in the US.

  12. 12.

    trollhattan

    We are a nervous nation. Kiddo’s school is hosting a track and field meet and the university posted this.

    The Wake Forest men’s and women’s track and field programs will host the 2025 Wake Forest Invitational track meet on Thursday. April 17 through Friday, April 18 at Kentner Stadium on the Reynolda Campus.

    Please be aware that a starter gun will be used and may be heard throughout the day. A full schedule of events is available, here.

    On the plus side, it’s senior day so she and many others are being feted. Whee!

  13. 13.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Martin:  Speaking of Bukele gang negotiations. 

    and it  blew up in Bukele face the next year .

    So, did Trump BS Bukele that Garcia was one of the gang leaders? I notice Trump was pretending to never have heard of Garcia today.

  14. 14.

    Martin

    npr.org/2025/04/18/nx-s1-5357511/state-department-human-rights-report-cuts

    The Trump administration is substantially scaling back the State Department’s annual reports on international human rights to remove longstanding critiques of abuses such as harsh prison conditions, government corruption and restrictions on participation in the political process, NPR has learned.

    Despite decades of precedent, the reports, which are meant to inform congressional decisions on foreign aid allocations and security assistance, will no longer call governments out for such things as denying freedom of movement and peaceful assembly. They won’t condemn retaining political prisoners without due process or restrictions on “free and fair elections.”

    Forcibly returning a refugee or asylum-seeker to a home country where they may face torture or persecution will no longer be highlighted, nor will serious harassment of human rights organizations.

  17. 17.

    schrodingers_cat

    The sleeper story that is not getting as much play is the number of international students and scholars (F-1 and J-1) getting their visas revoked.. The numbers are close to 1000. This is an attack on universities, university towns, immigration laws, due process in addition to the students and scholars themselves.

  18. 18.

    Martin

    @Scout211: Thanks. So this now reads that the Trump admin is working in agreement with Bukele and the gangs, and many of the other deportees sent to CECOT were merely cover to return MS-13 leaders and keep them out of prison.

    What I still don’t understand is how Van Hollen got that meeting and photo. Why allow that given what these articles suggest?

  20. 20.

    Martin

    @schrodingers_cat: The goal seems quite clear to shut down all legal immigration to the US. It’s not just students, but people on work and tourist visas. The randomness of it is a feature. There’s no policy from on high for courts to point to which might incriminate them, just a reliance that if you remove accountability from cops you can trust there will be enough racist cops willing to yank someone out a car window just for the fun of it. DOJ will refuse to prosecute those cops and Trump will pardon them if that fails.

    The net effect is that nobody can predict what will happen to them if they get to the US. Maybe they go to Disneyworld, maybe they get held in detention for 2 weeks, maybe they wake up in El Salvador. Point is, people self-select to never go to the US, which is the goal.

  21. 21.

    Martin

    And our daily dose of good news, I suppose:

    “For now, Pentagon and DHS won’t recommend that Trump invoke the Insurrection Act”

  23. 23.

    hotshoe

    @Martin: What I still don’t understand is how Van Hollen got that meeting and photo.

    Me neither.

    I’m not happy with my own speculation about how/why that makes sense.

    Cui bono ???

    What does Nayib get out of arranging for Van Hollen to score a photo opportunity?

    Nayib is quite a psychopath. Might be simply to indulge in his own satisfaction: poking a thumb in US Senator’s eye by showing off that he still controls the prisoner. We can talk to Abrego Garcia but we can’t free him from Nayib’s grasp. Ha ha got ya.

    Well, maybe it will turn out that we can’t free him, not without declaring war on El Salvador — and of course that truly could not happen without overturning the ReThugs in both houses and deposing Dictator Don.

    So, just a little laugh by Nayib, joke’s on us ?

  24. 24.

    Hoodie

    @hotshoe: Maybe it wasn’t up to Bukele? Is he entirely in control? Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s just a frontman for MS13 or some other gang.

  25. 25.

    Baud

    @hotshoe:

    What does Nayib get out of arranging for Van Hollen to score a photo opportunity?

     
    Van Hollen probably brought Maryland crab cakes.

  27. 27.

    Steve LaBonne

    @Martin: It’s also another way to screw the universities, which depend on revenue from full-freight international students. A floor wax AND a dessert topping!

  28. 28.

    WaterGirl

    After watching the whole thing, I can say this:  Senator Van Hollen did not come to play.

  30. 30.

    WaterGirl

    Senator Van Hollen talked about things that American citizens can do.

    Do not travel to El Salvador.  Apparently the tourist industry is big there, and tourism has been increasing.

    Look at where you investments are, if you have them, and move your investments if any of the companies that hold your funds do any kind of investing in that part of the world.

    Van Hollen pointed out that it’s against international law to hold ANY PRISONERS without access to communication with lawyers, family, etc.  And that El Salvador is a signatory to that agreement.

    Van Hollen also questioned the 15 million dollar deal was never appropriated by congress.

    He pointed out multiple times that “it’s not a good look” for the president of El Salvador to be “complicity in this illegal scheme to kidnap and retain” legal residents of the US.

    Like I said, Van Hollen didn’t come to play.

    edited to add more info.

  31. 31.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Steve LaBonne: That may be true about undergrads but most international grad students have tuition waivers and assistantships or fellowships. This is another way to strangle research.

    International exchange visitors (J-1 visa holders) are on fellowships.

  34. 34.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: I think Senator Van Hollen knew what he was doing when he went to El Salvador alone, instead of recruiting other Maryland members of Congress. It wasn’t that he wanted to hog the spotlight; I think he believed that in this situation, less was more, and he may have been right.

  35. 35.

    WaterGirl

    @Hoodie: I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the President of El Salvador didn’t participate in any of these communications.  Looks to me like he wants to land in the shit show that’s coming.

    Make that… that’s already started.

  36. 36.

    Peale

    @hotshoe: I’m going to guess that despite the fact that he’s popular and no one batted an eye when he was rounding up 10% of the poor in El Salvador, innocent, guilty, no trial…and voters were ok with sticking to those Venezuelans, there’s quite a few not buying what he’s selling. There’s 6 million people in El Salvador and 2.5 million Salvadorans in the US. People get deported all the time to El Salvador. It sucks, but they just go back to their families. Now Bukele is selling them on the idea that if you get deported, you get returned to El Salvador and spend life in prison there. That might be a change too far.

  38. 38.

    WaterGirl

    @Geminid: I agree with you.

    I think it’s also about how you spend your resources.  Van Hollen mentioned that he may have been the first to go, but he is not going to be the last.  And added the phrase again that “it’s not a good look” for El Salvador.

    Just as Obama strategically trickled out his endorsements in 2007 and 2008, I think there are going to be several trips ahead from various members of congress.

    This part is just my opinion:  Van Hollen did something else here.  He took grave personal risks in going to El Salvador – especially not as part of a big gaggle where there’s safety in numbers – and he explicitly pointed out that we all need to take risks to fight what is happening.  Each member of congress that goes will also be demonstrating the risk taking in support of the cause of the constitution.  I think it’s gonna have an impact.  I think they know we’re all gonna have to take risks if we want to keep our constitution intact.

  41. 41.

    Darkrose

    @schrodingers_cat: It’s getting a fair amount of play out here. The CSU and UC systems are getting hit hard by this.

    Today’s weekly UC federal update mentions that “UC campuses are checking federal government databases daily to determine the status of their students and proactively notifying students when visa terminations are identified.” The government is supposed to notify universities, but they’re not; they’re just grabbing the students. It’s both horrifying and incredibly stupid. 

  46. 46.

    Hoodie

    @WaterGirl: This arrangement puts a spotlight on El Salvador.  Not sure why Bukele would want that attention given his shady associations with the gangs.  Cecot serves his internal purposes but turning it into Guantanamo II might bring too much attention and lack of control with fuckups by outside actors like ICE. Wouldn’t be a surprise that the Trump admin is the stupid behind this prison “deal” and the fucked up abduction of Garcia is bringing too much additional attention. Maybe they thought they could brazen it out but now it’s snowballing.

  47. 47.

    WaterGirl

    @Geminid: I think he also kept the visit from being dismissed as “a bunch of Democrats who don’t care about gangs” or immigration.

  48. 48.

    WaterGirl

    @Hoodie:

    Maybe they thought they could brazen it out but now it’s snowballing.

    I think it is – they are not in control of the narrative at the moment.

    I also hope that it was is written on the tombstone of the FFOTUS administration.  “They thought they could brazen it out but it snowballed.”

    Across the board!

  50. 50.

    brendancalling

    Watching now. This is totally fucked.

    This shit is unsustainable. This aggression will not stand.

  51. 51.

    JoyceH

    I honestly think Bukele is getting cold feet. He thought this would be simple – take money to warehouse a bunch of guys nobody cared about. He was willing to facilitate the Trump admin’s photo ops. He was approved in El Salvador for his prisons because he started with a genuinely bad and dangerous gang situation. The Trump admin has been trying to pretend that gangs are out of control here but few if any Americans have any personal experience with it. So this has blown up into a huge international story and scandal and it’s not dying down, it’s getting worse. The consequences for being an international pariah are harsh. He’s trying to play both sides now IMO. He knows Trump won’t be there forever.

  52. 52.

    lowtechcyclist

    I am glad that Kilmar Abrego Garcia has Chris Van Hollen as one of his U.S. Senators.  He has been standing up and speaking out since Musk’s fascist youth corps got its hands on USAID in the first days of this Administration.  He is very clear-sighted about the real issues here, and it was very gutsy of him to go to El Salvador to try – successfully, as it turned out – to meet with Abrego Garcia.

  53. 53.

    Darkrose

    Bukele is an asshole, but he’s not entirely stupid. One of his big moves was to make Bitcoin legal tender When he was trying to make a deal with the IMF for $14 billion in financial assistance, one of their demands was that El Salvador drop Bitcoin, so he got the legislature to pass a law doing just that.

    My sense is that while he’s happy to be an online edgelord and pal around with Trump, he’s aware that El Salvador is a signatory of the Rome treaty, and he knows that Duterte is currently cooling his heels at the Hague. He’s a bully, and when pushed, he blinked.

  54. 54.

    Jay

    @MagdaInBlack:

    Technically, he was elected, so not a Dictator.

    And the list of the “corrupt” in this case includes the DJTdiot Admin, the DOJ, ICE, Homeland Security, etc.

    The MS-13 had their US criminal cases dropped and they were shipped back to El Salvador, to kill a DOJ Investigation into and protect Bukele.

  57. 57.

    lowtechcyclist

    @MagdaInBlack:

    Who would have ever thought a Central American dictator is corrupt.

    Who ever thought we’d get a President who’d try to turn us into a huge banana republic.

    Hard to look down on the tinpot dictators of Latin America when we’ve got our own.

  59. 59.

    Hoodie

    @WaterGirl: I suspect van Hollen knows there’s bullshit afoot with this El Salvador deal that Lil Marco cooked up and Bukele might now want out of because it’s bringing too much heat. That may be why he got a visit with Garcia, in return for a message that van Hollen will be talking with others in DC to let Bukele off the hook if he bags this stupid deal with Trump. Bukele may be using Garcia as a bargaining chip. Note that he’s moved him to a presumably safer location because he needs his hostage alive.

  61. 61.

    Booger

    Still loving the idea of Senator VanHalen, though I’m more of a Senator Zeppelin myself.

  65. 65.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Jay: Was it Karma that Garcia was placed on that 3rd flight, the one that had an actual high-ranking MS-13 gang member who had been incarcerated by the Biden administration? If I’m reading that right, and that is what happened, it adds a whole new angle to Li’l Marco’s shitty little “own the libs” comment of “Oopsie!”

    If the TV MSM actually reports clearly on this (ha!), this OUGHT to add to the loser stink that Trump had dipped his toe into with his world-class stupid tariffs.

    The article is short and worth reading. If I’ve misread it, please set me straight

    ETA (a bit more) clarity

    ETA2: and “administrative error” takes on a whole new meaning.

  66. 66.

    Martin

    @Darkrose: We were always checking the databases daily. That was part of the shift in/assumption of responsibility after 9/11. What wasn’t happening was seeing changes to legal status daily and needing to pass that through the institution. Those changes were quite rare before.

  67. 67.

    TONYG

    @WaterGirl: That’s right.  This is a warning to everybody — citizens or not — that anyone can be sent to the gulag.  The pseudo-legal justification of stripping people of citizenship now is the rejection of birthright citizenship.  Logically, in the absence of birthright citizenship, everybody would have to prove that his/her ancestors came here legally — and who can do that?

  68. 68.

    WaterGirl

    @Hoodie:  Interesting speculation, I wonder if we will ever know.

    Yeah, “no you can’t see him” and then “yes, you can see him” – I would like to know just how that happened.

  69. 69.

    WaterGirl

    I’m just going to add one more thing.

    As I was watching the Chris Van Hollen video, it really struck me that this was really an important moment.  Just like Booker.  Leaders are appearing and are speaking out.

    Even Murkowski with her “we’re afraid” comment was important.  Say it out loud.  We’re obviously not at critical mass yet, but I feel something building.

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