MEXICO CITY (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel applauded Mexican authorities Tuesday for the arrest and handover of one of the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” suspects, an alleged gang leader from El Salvador.
Francisco Javier Román Bardales is allegedly a senior leader of the Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 gang. He was arrested Monday in the mountains of the Gulf coast state of Veracruz by soldiers and federal agents.
“This is a major victory both for our law enforcement partners and for a safer America,” Patel wrote.
Mexico’s security chief Omar García Harfuch applauded the arrest Monday, which his agency said was the result of international cooperation. The agency referred to his handover as a deportation to the United States.
Román Bardales faces charges related to violent crime, drug distribution and extortion in the Eastern District of New York.