In what critics are calling a calculated cover-up, the Trump administration is attempting to dismiss serious federal charges against a high-ranking MS-13 gang leader in favor of deporting him to El Salvador. Court documents unsealed this week reveal prosecutors are seeking to remove Vladimir Antonio Arevalo-Chavez from U.S. jurisdiction despite his facing terrorism and racketeering charges.
The move has raised alarm among legal experts who suggest the real motivation is preventing Arevalo-Chavez from testifying about explosive allegations. As a member of MS-13’s “Ranfla Nacional” leadership council, he reportedly possesses intimate knowledge of a secret 2019 agreement between Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s government and the notorious gang.
This shadowy pact allegedly involved the Bukele administration providing financial incentives and territorial concessions to MS-13 in exchange for reduced violence and support in the 2021 elections. Such testimony could prove devastating to Bukele, who has cultivated an international image as a tough-on-crime leader.
The Justice Department’s own filing inadvertently reveals the political nature of the decision, citing “sensitive and important foreign policy considerations” and “geopolitical and national security concerns” as justification for the unusual dismissal.
“This is collusion between two governments to cover up a gang pact by dropping charges on known gangsters,” said political science professor Michael Ahn Paarlberg, who characterized the situation as “a criminal conspiracy between the Trump and Bukele administrations.”
The case mirrors a March incident when another MS-13 leader, Cesar Humberto López-Larios, had his charges quietly dismissed before being deported to El Salvador’s maximum-security Cecot prison. Both deportations appear connected to a broader agreement allowing the U.S. to house immigrants in Salvadoran facilities.