The Justice Department has moved to dismiss criminal charges against Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, the alleged East Coast leader of the MS-13 gang, just weeks after his high-profile arrest. Instead, the government plans to deport him.
However, Villatoro Santos’ defense attorney is opposing the dismissal, arguing that his client faces the risk of immediate deportation without due process and potential imprisonment in El Salvador.
READ: US Attorney General Pam Bondi Announces $510 Million Drug Seizure At Florida Port, Targets Cartels
The arrest, which occurred in late March in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., was publicly touted by the Trump administration as a significant victory in its crackdown on violent street gangs. Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, among other law enforcement officials, held a press conference to announce the arrest, with senior officials present at a nearby operation center during the operation.
Villatoro Santos, an El Salvadoran man alleged to be residing in the U.S. illegally, was charged in federal court with illegal gun possession after firearms were discovered during a search of his residence. Investigators also reported finding “indicia of MS-13 association” in his bedroom, though specific details regarding his alleged gang involvement have not been provided in court documents.
RELATED: FBI: MS-13 Gang Leader Arrested In New York, Charged In 11 Murders
On Wednesday, prosecutors informed the court of their decision to drop the case, stating that “the government no longer wishes to pursue the instant prosecution at this time.”
In a statement, Attorney General Bondi referred to Villatoro Santos as a “terrorist” and confirmed that he would be subjected to the removal process. “He will not be living in our country much longer,” Bondi stated.
In response, Villatoro Santos’ attorney, Muhammad Elsayed, filed a motion requesting a two-week delay in the court’s ruling on the dismissal. Elsayed argued that his client is at risk of being “unlawfully deported by ICE without due process and removed to El Salvador, where he would almost certainly be immediately detained at one of the worst prisons in the world without any right to contest his removal.”
Elsayed emphasized the unusual nature of the situation, given the high-profile nature of the arrest and the public allegations made by top government officials. He expressed concerns that deportation could effectively result in a “life sentence without any due process.”
The Trump administration has previously deported individuals to El Salvador’s CECOT prison, using the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century wartime law, to justify removals. Families of some of those deported have claimed their relatives are not gang members. The legal battle over Villatoro Santos’ fate is now set to unfold in court.
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