Attorneys for the suspected East Coast leader of MS-13 sought to postpone having his criminal charges formally dropped because they believe the federal government is trying to hasten his deportation to El Salvador’s prison.
The defense team for Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos filed the motion on Wednesday, hours after the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alexandria, Virginia, dismissed the lone gun charge brought against the 24-year-old defendant when he was arrested last month in a highly publicized raid.
Lawyers for Mr. Villatoro Santos said prosecutors’ desire to drop charges against him — which came less than two hours after his current counsel joined the case — reveals their interest in sending the defendant to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, before he could mount a legal defense.
“In that event, it is almost certain that Salvadoran authorities would immediately detain him upon arriving in El Salvador and detain him indefinitely at CECOT without any trial or due process based on the United States Government’s public pronouncements that he is a ‘top leader’ of MS-13,” Muhammad Elsayed, the defendant’s attorney, wrote in the motion. “The risk of this turning effectively into a life sentence without any due process is very real.”
The defense team is seeking a 14-day delay in the court formally dismissing the charges so Mr. Villatoro Santos can retain counsel for an immigration hearing.
A hearing on prosecutors’ motion to drop the charges and for Mr. Villatoro Santos’ motion to postpone the dismissal is scheduled for Tuesday, according to court records.
The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors can file the same charges later.
The Trump administration has cited an 18th-century wartime law to justify deporting hundreds of suspected gang members from MS-13 and Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua without due process. Many of those being deported are winding up in El Salvador’s 40,000-inmate prison.
Mr. Villatoro Santos’ arrest on March 27 was celebrated by President Trump, and Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel were on the scene in Woodbridge, Virginia, to praise the capture of the suspected ringleader.
“America is safer today because one of the top domestic terrorists in MS-13 is off the streets,” Ms. Bondi.
According to the criminal complaint, an FBI SWAT team busted into Mr. Villatoro Santos’ home and tossed stun grenades before taking him into custody.
The filing said agents seized a Brazilian-made handgun in the suspect’s garage bedroom.
Authorities also found three more guns, ammunition, suppressors and indications of MS-13 association in the bedroom, according to court documents.
The complaint said Mr. Villatoro Santos was originally sought out on an outstanding immigration warrant.
The Woodbridge home, which belongs to the suspect’s mother, came under federal surveillance following a reported burglary at the house in August. Federal agents said they observed Mr. Villatoro Santos going in and out of the home throughout March.
Virginia court records showed Mr. Villatoro Santos had prior convictions for marijuana possession charges in 2018 and was convicted last fall for driving without a license and without insurance. Both offenses took place in Prince William County.
