Rubio, Van Hollen Clash Over Deportees, Including “Gangbanger” Senator Had “A Margarita With”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Senator Chris Van Hollen had a heated clash Wednesday over an alleged gang member Van Hollen “had a margarita with.”

Rubio appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which he used to serve on, to defend U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy and testify on proposed budget estimates.

In a fiery exchange, Rubio and Van Hollen clashed over several issues, including student visas and alleged gang members being deported to El Salvador.

“I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you as Secretary of State,” Van Hollen said after using his allocated time to deliver scathing criticism.

“Your regret for voting for me confirms I’m doing a good job, based on what I know about your record and what you stand for,” Rubio responded.

The exchange soon turned to the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported by the U.S. government to a supermax prison in El Salvador.

Van Hollen, a Democrat, has been campaigning for his release and traveled to El Salvador to meet with him last month.

Defending the deportations, Rubio said: “We deported gang members, including the one that you had a margarita with.

“That guy is a human trafficker and that guy is a gangbanger and the evidence is going to be clear in the days to come, you’re going to see who you went to dinner with.”

“He can’t make unsubstantiated comments like that,” Van Hollen fumed to Chairman Jim Risch.

Van Hollen has denied that he or Garcia drank margaritas at the April 17 meeting, and claims they were staged to deceive people.

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele had posted images of the meeting, saying Garcia had “miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ and ‘torture’" and was “now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!”

Garcia’s lawyers deny he has any links to criminal gangs after the Trump administration alleged he was a member of MS-13.

Garcia, who lived in Maryland, was among hundreds of people deported to El Salvador in March under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

Loved ones and lawyers of some of those deported to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) have disputed the claims that they were criminals.

CECOT is a notorious prison in El Salvador that is known for its overcrowding and harsh living conditions, with inmates rarely leaving their cells.

Rubio said he had discussions with Bukele, but added that he was under no obligation to share “how he conducted diplomacy” with the judicial branch.

“No judge, and the judicial branch, can tell me or the president how to conduct foreign policy. No judge can tell me how I have to outreach to a foreign partner or what I need to say to them.”

He said this would be counterproductive, arguing that if he revealed private conversations to the courts or the media, no foreign leader would ever speak to him again.

With regard to the revocation of the student visas of pro-Palestinian protestors, Rubio said there would be more to come.

“I don’t deport anybody and I don’t snatch anybody,” he said.

“The State Department does not have officers in the street snatching everybody.

“What I do is revoke visas, and it’s very simple: a visa is not a right, it is a privilege.

“People apply for student visas to come into the U.S. and study.

“If you tell me that you’re coming to the U.S. to lead campus crusades, to take over libraries, to try to burn down buildings, and acts of violence, we’re not going to give you them.”

Van Hollen interrupted and said Rubio “was just blowing smoke here now.”

But Rubio said he would continue to revoke the visas of people disrupting the higher education system.

“There are more coming,” Rubio said. “We’re going to continue to revoke the visas of people who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education.”

In recent months, the U.S. State Department has amped up efforts to revoke visas for international students involved in disruptive campus protests—particularly pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

It is part of a broader government initiative called “catch and revoke,” which uses AI to identify foreign nationals expressing views the government deems pro-Hamas.

Critics say targeting pro-Palestinian demonstrators is an infringement on free speech, which is protected under the First Amendment.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed several lawsuits challenging the government for revoking international student visas for those involved in protests.

The government has defended its stance and claims it is stamping out antisemitism and protecting national interests.

In March, Rubio said that anyone on a visa in the U.S. is a guest, and if they support “pro-Hamas” activities, which run “counter to the foreign policy interests of the United States,” they will be deported.