WASHINGTON — House Democrats dropped more than $7,000 in campaign money this spring on air travel to El Salvador — and a reservation at a swanky Hilton hotel — despite some telling the public they were paying for trips to visit alleged foreign gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia “out of their own pocket.”
Reps. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) and Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) arrived in San Salvador April 21 to “pressure the Trump Administration” for the release of Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 member, according to a joint statement.
Garcia’s congressional campaign spent $1,981.99 on Taca International Airlines, a Salvadoran carrier, for travel a few days earlier, on April 17 — and another $501.53 for “event space rental” at the Hilton San Salvador on April 29, Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show.
Frost’s campaign shelled out $1,362.49 for travel on Avianca, a Latin American airline that bears El Salvador’s flag, and $967.43 for travel on Volaris, a low-cost Mexican airline — both of which were recorded May 8, a week or so after their trip.
Ansari’s campaign reported the highest total spending on travel with $2,616.45 forked over to Avianca Airlines in four separate tranches between April 17 and 21. Dexter’s campaign paid $1,315.44 for travel on Taca Airlines April 18.
None of the lawmakers listed any lodging expenses in El Salvador, according to a Post review of the FEC filings, and all except for Garcia claimed they personally footed the bill for the travel costs.
“The congresswoman paid for her own flights and hotel with her own money, and the campaign paid for a campaign volunteer with campaign funds,” noted an Ansari rep, clarifying that no Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA) funds were used.
Ansari’s office previously told a Phoenix-based NBC affiliate that the congresswoman “paid for the trip out of her own pocket.”
A Garcia spokesperson previously confirmed to The Post that the congressman “paid for the trip through his personal campaign funds.”
A rep for Dexter had said in April their member self-funded the flight.
Frost’s reps told Politico no MRA funds, which are provided by US taxpayers, were used.
Travel expenses exceeding $1,000 are considered in-kind contributions to campaigns when recorded by a candidate, campaign staffer or volunteer, according to the FEC.
Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) made a separate visit to El Salvador to try to meet with Abrego Garcia, a former Maryland resident who resided in his district, but only spent $291.25 in campaign funds for the jaunt.
“Congressman Ivey did not use MRA or taxpayer funds for his trip to El Salvador. In accordance with House Administration and FEC guidelines, his principal campaign committee covered the travel costs associated with fulfilling his official Congressional oversight responsibilities,” said Ivey’s communications director Ramón Korionoff in a statement.
“All expenses were properly reported to the FEC in full compliance with federal disclosure requirements. Congressman Ivey believes it’s essential to understand the real-world impact of U.S. immigration and security policies firsthand, and he remains committed to conducting his work with transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility.”
Notably, a review of filings for Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) — the only Democrat to be granted a meeting with Abrego Garcia in what he later claimed was a staged photo-op by Salvadoran officials for the purpose of embarrassing him — do not show any campaign spending for similar travel or lodging in mid-April.
The main campaign arm for Senate Republicans later mocked the political trips by offering “one-way” tickets for more Dems to visit El Salvador.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) reportedly dissuaded the Dems from taking the trip — despite praising Dexter in a subsequent political livestream as well as Van Hollen, whose “great leadership” the Brooklynite celebrated for having made the first visit to CECOT.
Asked in an April 29 press conference whether he agreed with Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) that it was a “mistake rallying around” Abrego Garcia, Jeffries deflected the question.
CECOT, the notorious Salvadoran megaprison, took in 260 suspected gang members that the Trump administration deported on March 15, including Abrego Garcia who had entered the US illegally in 2011.
Maryland police arrested him along with some MS-13 members at a Home Depot parking lot in March 2019. Abrego Garcia was sporting a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie that “represents they are a member in good standing” of the gang, a confidential informant told authorities.
The informant, in a report filed with the Prince George’s County Police Department, said Abrego Garcia was an “active member” of MS-13, held the low rank of “Chequeo” and went by the street name “Chele.”
Later in 2019, an immigration judge granted Abrego Garcia a “withholding of removal” order preventing his immediate deportation to El Salvador and allowing for removal to other nations — but he was released without the first Trump administration appealing the decision.
Garcia was later moved from CECOT to a lower-security facility elsewhere in El Salvador.
In June, the Trump administration facilitated the alleged gangbanger’s return to the US — where he was hit with human trafficking charges.
Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, and defense attorneys have denied Abrego Garcia’s purported MS-13 affiliation.
Reps for Garcia, Frost and Dexter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
