The FBI extradited an alleged senior chief of the MS-13 gang who was on the company’s “10 most needed” record with the assistance of the Mexican authorities, FBI Director Kash Patel stated Tuesday.
Patel stated Mexican authorities arrested Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales — who Patel stated is believed to be a “key senior chief” of the gang. Roman-Bardales is being extradited to the US, Patel added.
Patel touted the arrest as a “main victory.”
“He was arrested in Mexico and is being transported throughout the U.S. as we converse, the place he’ll face American justice,” Patel wrote in a post on X. “This can be a main victory each for our legislation enforcement companions and for a safer America.”
Roman-Bardales, 47, has been charged with a number of offenses for “his alleged function in ordering quite a few acts of violence towards civilians and rival gang members, in addition to his function in drug distribution and extortion schemes in the US and El Salvador,” the FBI stated.
On this photograph launched by the FBI, Javier Roman-Bardales is proven.
FBI
A federal arrest warrant was issued for Roman-Bardales in a New York court docket in 2022 after he was charged with conspiracy to offer and conceal materials assist and sources to terrorists; narco-terrorism conspiracy; racketeering conspiracy; and alien smuggling conspiracy.
Mexican authorities bought intelligence that Roman-Bardales was in Baxtla, Mexico. Mexican legislation enforcement was deployed to the realm, the place Roman-Bardales was recognized and arrested, the FBI stated.
Patel thanked Mexican companions for his or her assist in bringing Roman-Bardales to the U.S.
“This significant step enhances the protection of communities throughout America,” Patel stated.
FBI Director Kash Patel applauds as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on the Justice Division, March 14, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Photographs
The arrest comes as President Donald Trump and his administration goal gangs resembling MS-13.
He mentioned his efforts throughout his deal with to a joint session of Congress final month, mentioning the deaths of Jocelyn Nungaray — who was killed by two undocumented males from Venezuela — and Laken Riley — who was killed by an undocumented immigrant.
“All three savages charged with Jocelyn and Laken’s murders have been members of the Venezuelan jail gang — the hardest gang, they are saying, on the earth — referred to as Tren de Aragua. Two weeks in the past, I formally designated this gang, together with MS-13 and the bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartels, as overseas terrorist organizations. They’re now formally in the identical class as ISIS, and that is not good for them,” Trump stated in his joint deal with to Congress.
Additionally, Trump’s administration is working to deport gang members from the U.S. Over the weekend, the Trump administration handed over greater than 200 alleged gang members — together with two prime members of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang — to El Salvadoran authorities. The transfer has raised questions as as to if the deportations may very well be in violation of a federal decide’s order quickly blocking the removing of Venezuelans pursuant to the administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act.
