US and El Salvador Under Fire for Alleged Plot to Silence MS-13 Whistleblower

The Trump administration is facing serious allegations of collaborating with El Salvador to suppress testimony from a top MS-13 leader. Newly unsealed court documents show federal prosecutors are moving to drop significant charges against Vladimir Antonio Arevalo-Chavez, a senior figure on MS-13’s “Ranfla Nacional,” in order to deport him to El Salvador.
Critics argue this is a strategic attempt to keep Arevalo-Chavez from revealing details about a secret 2019 deal between Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and MS-13, which allegedly involved government payments and territorial concessions in exchange for reduced gang violence and political support.
This controversy is further fueled by claims that the deportation is linked to a broader agreement allowing the US to send immigrants to El Salvador’s high-security Cecot prison. Political scientist Michael Ahn Paarlberg called it “collusion between two governments to cover up a gang pact by dropping charges on known gangsters.”
The Justice Department’s own filings cite “foreign policy” and “national security” as reasons for dismissing the charges, raising questions about whether protecting Bukele’s image is being prioritized over justice. This follows a similar case in March, when another MS-13 board member, Cesar Humberto López-Larios, was quietly deported after charges were dropped.