Axios

Kilmar Armando Ábrego García, mistakenly deported from the U.S., was moved from CECOT to a detention center in Santa Ana, El Salvador, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said on Friday.

The big picture: Ábrego García said he was traumatized at the Salvadoran megaprison.

The U.S. will shrink its military footprint in Syria over the coming months, bringing troop levels below 1,000.

Why it matters: President Trump tried to pull all American forces from the war-ravaged country during his first term.

Several days before President Trump and members of his administration said publicly that they were prepared to wash their hands of Russia-Ukraine diplomacy, Trump ranted in private about his frustrations that the negotiations were going nowhere.

Why it matters: After promising a deal within 24 hours of taking office, then kicking off weeks of negotiations, Trump said Friday that he was about ready to give up. He hasn't set a deadline or said whether he would take any further action beyond walking away.

Two top Israeli officials had an unannounced meeting in Paris on Friday with White House envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, three Israeli sources familiar with the meeting tell Axios.

Why it matters: Ron Dermer and David Barnea, Israel's strategic affairs minister and the director of the Mossad intelligence agency, slipped into Paris for the low-profile meeting with Witkoff to try to influence the U.S. position ahead of the second round of talks in Rome on Saturday, the officials said.

The Trump administration's informal end-of-April deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine is drawing near without any commitments from the Kremlin.

Why it matters: U.S.-Russia talks have shown little clear progress and President Trump's promise of a swift peace deal appears nowhere near fruition. Still, he insisted Thursday that a ceasefire was getting closer and that he'd be "hearing from Russia this week."

Pro-globalist, free trade institutions have an awkward admission: President Trump is right.

Why it matters: The era of America as the world's biggest customer looks like it might be over.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with Kilmar Armando Ábrego García, a Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, per social media posts by the country's president and the Democrat .

Why it matters: Van Hollen said he was twice denied requests to visit Ábrego García at the high-security Salvadoran prison for terrorists where the legal U.S. resident is being held as the Trump administration evades courts' orders to facilitate his release, despite conceding that he was deported in an "administrative error."

At least two Republican House members and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have toured the same Salvadoran prison that turned away a Senate Democrat seeking to speak with a mistakenly deported constituent.

Why it matters: CECOT in Tecoluca, El Salvador, has become the symbol of President Trump's immigration crackdown after he sent hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants there with little or no due process.

President Trump's trade war is inspiring the latest TikTok trend — Chinese manufacturers encouraging shoppers to buy direct and pay less.

Why it matters: The trend highlights American consumers' desperation to avoid massive price increases on Chinese-made goods as Trump's tariffs take effect.