The Trump Justice Department has quietly dropped narco-terrorism charges against two top leaders of the violent gang MS-13, allowing them to be sent back to El Salvador instead of facing prosecution in the U.S
This move has raised serious questions about the administration’s handling of criminal extraditions and its relationship with El Salvador’s government.
For decades, U.S. policy has been to arrest and prosecute foreign criminals, especially gang leaders involved in violent transnational crimes on American soil.
Extradition and federal prosecution have been key tools to hold such criminals accountable.
However, the Trump administration appears to have reversed this approach in a deal involving Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
Reports say the Justice Department dismissed charges against the two MS-13 leaders to facilitate their return to El Salvador, at Bukele’s insistence.
This agreement was part of a broader deal in which the U.S. reportedly paid El Salvador $6 million to take custody of about 300 illegal immigrants.
Many of these deportees allegedly include members of violent gangs like MS-13 and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, according to the National Review.
Critics argue that this deal has tarnished U.S. efforts to enforce immigration and border laws, especially given Bukele’s government’s history of negotiating