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mahatmakanejeeves

(64,409 posts) Thu Apr 10, 2025, 01:54 PM Apr 10

Justice Department moves to drop case against alleged top MS-13 leader, seeks to deport him instead

Source: Associated Press, via WTOP

Justice Department moves to drop case against alleged top MS-13 leader, seeks to deport him instead

The Associated Press
April 10, 2025, 12:41 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has moved to drop a criminal case against the alleged East Coast leader of the MS-13 gang less two weeks after he was charged, saying they plan to deport him instead of prosecuting him in the U.S. ... In an unusual move, his lawyer is now fighting prosecutors’ request to immediately dismiss the case, contending he’s in danger of being swiftly deported without due process and sent to an El Salvador prison.

The late March arrest of Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos in the suburbs outside of Washington was loudly celebrated by the Trump administration as a major victory in the president’s effort to take down violent street gangs designated “foreign terrorist organizations.” ... Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other law enforcement leaders held a press conference to announce his arrest. Bondi and Patel and other senior officials watched the arrest happen in northern Virginia in a nearby operation center.

The El Salvador man, who Bondi says was living in the country illegally, was charged in federal court with illegal gun possession after agents found several firearms during the search of his home, according to court papers. Investigators have said they found “indicia of MS-13 association” in his bedroom but prosecutors have provided no other details in court documents about his alleged gang involvement.

Prosecutors told the judge on Wednesday that he should dismiss the case because “the government no longer wishes to pursue the instant prosecution at this time.”

{snip}

Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Read more: https://wtop.com/national/2025/04/justice-department-moves-to-drop-case-against-alleged-top-ms-13-leader-seeks-to-deport-him-instead/

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Justice Department moves to drop case against alleged top MS-13 leader, seeks to deport him instead (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Apr 10 OP

All this hoopla over the arrest of one undocumented immigrant with guns suspected of being MS-13? sop Apr 10 #1

Bukele needs the real gang leaders deported without trial rather than giving evidence about his deals with them muriel_volestrangler Apr 10 #2

sop

(13,802 posts)

1. All this hoopla over the arrest of one undocumented immigrant with guns suspected of being MS-13?

Reply to mahatmakanejeeves (Original post)

Thu Apr 10, 2025, 02:16 PM

Apr 10

"Prosecutors have provided no other details in court documents about his alleged gang involvement," but they're claiming he's a "terrorist"?

And this part is laughable: "Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other law enforcement leaders held a press conference to announce his arrest. Bondi and Patel and other senior officials watched the arrest happen in northern Virginia in a nearby operation center." They're making this out to be another Osama bin Laden raid.

muriel_volestrangler

(103,479 posts)

2. Bukele needs the real gang leaders deported without trial rather than giving evidence about his deals with them

Reply to mahatmakanejeeves (Original post)

Thu Apr 10, 2025, 02:39 PM

Apr 10

The development follows a report by Drop Site News, which claimed another MS-13 leader was likely deported so he wouldn't reveal shady deals between Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and local gangs.

The outlet cited the case of gang leader Cesar Humberto Lopez-Larios, known as "Greñas," who had been in U.S. custody after being arrested in Mexico in 2023 and was considered a key figure in the U.S. case against MS-13 leadership.

According to U.S. Justice Department record cited by the outlet, "Greñas" was allegedly involved in secret negotiations between MS-13 and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's government, in which gang leaders were offered incentives in exchange for reducing violence and providing political support. Bukele has long denied these negotiations, but his administration has resisted extraditing MS-13 leaders to the U.S., raising speculation about his desire to keep their testimony out of American courts.

Four days before "Greñas" was deported, federal prosecutors dismissed the charges against him, citing "sensitive and important foreign policy considerations." The move was part of a broader deportation operation that included over 250 people, mostly Venezuelans accused of being part of the gang Tren de Aragua and for whose expulsion Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

https://www.latintimes.com/doj-said-arrested-salvadoran-was-ms-13-leader-east-coast-days-later-its-dropping-its-case-580392

What’s in this for Bukele, apart from the $20,000 he’s said to receive for taking each of these ‘criminals’ and (in Trump’s words) giving them ‘such a wonderful place to live’? He’s earned an invitation to the White House later this month (‘I’ll be bringing several cans of Diet Coke,’ Bukele joked). He’s also strengthened his image as a leader who has transformed his country’s security.

But most important might be Bukele’s need to suppress evidence that, back in 2019, he negotiated with gang leaders, offering concessions in return for a reduced murder rate. One such leader, nicknamed ‘Greñas’, later fled to Mexico, where he was apprehended and sent to the US to face terrorism charges. Due in court soon, he could have spilled the beans on the deal, which Bukele denies ever took place. Trump’s justice department dropped the charges before they reached court. It then sent Greñas back to El Salvador, where he was put in CECOT and is unlikely ever to leave.

https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/april/irregular-warfare

"Deportation" ("extraordinary rendition", as it was called when Muslims were kidnapped to be tortured and imprisoned in Guantanamo) is much more convenient for covering things up.

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