Republican Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District is in El Salvador, according to the United States Embassy in the country.
On April 16, the official X account of the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador, El Salvador posted a picture of Hern with six other lawmakers and U.S. Ambassador William Duncan.
“Yesterday, #AmbassadorDuncan welcomed the delegation led by Congressman Jason Smith to El Salvador, who is visiting the country to strengthen bilateral ties and discuss initiatives that promote economic development and mutual cooperation,” the caption translated from Spanish reads.
In the photo, Hern stands next to Republican Rep. Riley Moore of West Virginia, who posted on X a different photo of himself at the mega-prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. Moore stands in front of a cell packed with men while he flashes two thumbs up.
“I just toured the CECOT prison in El Salvador. This maximum security facility houses the country’s most brutal criminals, including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and terrorists. Several inmates were extremely violent criminals recently deported from the U.S.
I leave now even more determined to support President Trump’s efforts to secure our homeland,” Moore posted with his photo.
CECOT has drawn scrutiny from human rights groups for its conditions. Prisoners there don’t receive visits and are never allowed outside while they live in cells housing 65 to 70 prisoners.
It’s been in the news lately because it now houses Kilmar Abrego García, a citizen of El Salvador who came to the United States illegally as a 16-year-old. The husband and father had protected status but was deported by the Trump administration, which admitted the move was a mistake.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” Abrego García’s return, but Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the 29-year-old Maryland man would “never live in the United States of America.”
Most recently, the Trump administration is seeking another appeal and may go back before the Supreme Court a second time.
It’s unclear if Hern toured CECOT.
Hern’s spokeswoman, Miranda Dabney, said in email to KWGS the office could not comment on Hern’s whereabouts while he is "out of the country," but wrote that more information will be released once Hern is home.
