Mayor Eric Adams took an apparent swipe Tuesday at a Maryland senator who met with a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador – saying at a press conference that he would not sip a “tequila drink” with a gang member.

“It’s time for all of us to ask the question, particularly those who are in government who find it more convenient to have a tequila drink with someone who’s a gang member: Which side are you on?” Adams said.

The statement was an apparent reference to Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who traveled to El Salvador last week to meet with a constituent who was mistakenly deported to the country. When Van Hollen met with the man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, he was photographed at a table with drinks he said were placed there by Salvadorian officials in what he called a setup.

Abrego Garcia has never been charged or convicted of any crime, including gang activity, a federal judge wrote in an opinion earlier this month.

https://gothamist.com/news/mayor-adams-rips-maryland-sen-van-hollen-over-tequila-drink-with-gang-member