Trump and Bukele Accused of Criminal Conspiracy to Silence MS-13 Witnesses

The Trump administration stands accused of orchestrating a cover-up involving one of Central America’s most dangerous criminal organizations. Court documents unsealed this week reveal that federal prosecutors are attempting to dismiss serious charges against Vladimir Antonio Arevalo-Chavez, a high-ranking MS-13 leader, in order to deport him to El Salvador.
Critics and legal experts are calling this move a calculated effort to prevent Arevalo-Chavez from testifying about a secret 2019 agreement between MS-13 and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s government. This shadowy pact allegedly involved the Bukele administration providing money and territory to the notorious gang in exchange for reduced violence and electoral support.
The controversy deepens with revelations that this deportation is part of a broader deal allowing the US to house immigrants in El Salvador’s maximum-security Cecot prison. Political science professor Michael Ahn Paarlberg didn’t mince words: “This is collusion between two governments to cover up a gang pact by dropping charges on known gangsters.”
What makes this particularly explosive is that Arevalo-Chavez sits on MS-13’s “Ranfla Nacional” – essentially the gang’s board of directors. He faces federal charges including racketeering, terrorism, and narco-terrorism conspiracy. His intimate knowledge of Bukele’s dealings with MS-13 makes him a potentially devastating witness.
The justice department’s own filing reveals the political nature of this decision, citing “sensitive and important foreign policy considerations” and “geopolitical and national security concerns” as reasons for dismissal. Translation: protecting Bukele’s reputation is worth more than prosecuting a terrorist.
This isn’t an isolated incident. In March, another Ranfla Nacional leader, Cesar Humberto López-Larios, had his charges quietly dismissed and was shipped off to El Salvador’s Cecot prison. Both men possessed damaging information about Bukele’s secret negotiations with MS-13 leadership.