Photo: Alamy
A fugitive leader of the MS-13 gang has been captured and will be extradited to face charges in the United States.
According to a statement released by Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Director Kash Patel, Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales is believed to be a key senior leader of the gang.
Roman-Bardales has been charged with multiple violent offenses according to the FBI, including his “alleged role in ordering numerous acts of violence against civilians and rival gang members, as well as his role in drug distribution and extortion schemes in the United States and El Salvador.”
“He was arrested in Mexico and is being transported within the U.S. as we speak, where he will face American justice,” Patel said.
Patel praised both American and Mexican law enforcement in securing the arrest of Roman-Bardales.
“This is a major victory both for our law enforcement partners and for a safer America,” Patel said. “Thank you to our brave personnel for executing the mission. And thank you to Mexico’s SSPC and FGE teams for their support of the FBI in this investigation and arrest.”
President Trump previously classified Mara Salvatrucha, the gang known as MS-13, as a foreign terrorist organization. Roman-Bardales is the third member of the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” List to be apprehended under the Trump administration.
His arrest comes amid the administration’s battle to curb the deadly drug crisis caused by the flow of illegal drugs across the border. Last month, the President of Mexico, Claudia Scheinbaum, pledged to assist the Trump administration in its effort to combat illegal drug trafficking by deploying 10,000 troops to the border. The Mexican authorities have worked with the FBI to apprehend and extradite multiple drug cartel leaders since President Trump has taken office.
