Handshake with the Devil: The Secretive US-El Salvador Deal to Exchange MS-13 Leaders

Vladimir Antonio Arevalo-Chavez knows too much—and that might be exactly why the Trump administration wants him out of the United States.
As a member of MS-13’s “Ranfla Nacional” leadership council, Arevalo-Chavez allegedly participated in secret negotiations with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s government in 2019. That deal, according to Justice Department records, involved financial and territorial concessions to the gang in exchange for reduced violence and political support.
Now, newly unsealed court documents reveal the Trump administration is seeking to dismiss federal terrorism and racketeering charges against Arevalo-Chavez to expedite his deportation to El Salvador. The move follows the March deportation of another gang leader with similar knowledge after his charges were quietly dropped.
The deportations appear connected to Trump’s recent agreement with Bukele, allowing the US to send immigrants to El Salvador’s notorious Cecot prison. CNN reported that Bukele specifically requested the return of nine MS-13 leaders from US custody.
“This is collusion between two governments to cover up a gang pact,” said Professor Michael Ahn Paarlberg. “The irony is both of them claim to be tough on crime.”
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Arevalo-Chavez’s transfer to immigration custody, as his attorneys argue the administration is trying to prevent him from potentially becoming a government witness.