In what critics are calling a troubling diplomatic bargain, the Trump administration is working to dismiss federal charges against a key MS-13 figure to expedite his deportation to El Salvador.
Vladimir Antonio Arevalo-Chavez, who faces racketeering and terrorism charges in New York, would normally be prosecuted in the United States. However, newly unsealed Justice Department filings reveal prosecutors are seeking dismissal based on “sensitive and important foreign policy considerations” and “geopolitical and national security concerns.”
The move appears connected to President Trump’s recent agreement with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele allowing the US to send immigrants to El Salvador’s maximum security prison. CNN previously reported that Bukele specifically requested the return of nine MS-13 leaders from American custody.
What makes this case particularly sensitive is Arevalo-Chavez’s alleged knowledge of a 2019 pact between Bukele’s government and MS-13—a deal that reportedly involved financial concessions to the gang in exchange for reduced violence and electoral support.
“The irony is both of them claim to be tough on crime,” noted Professor Michael Ahn Paarlberg, describing the situation as “a criminal conspiracy between the Trump and Bukele administrations.”