Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales, 47, a high-ranking MS-13 leader known as Veterano de Tribus, was arraigned Wednesday on a four-count indictment.
He and a dozen other top MS-13 leaders are accused of orchestrating the gang’s criminal operations in the U.S., El Salvador, Mexico, and beyond for the past two decades.
Roman-Bardales, a fugitive for nearly three years, was added to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list last month.
He was arrested on March 18 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego after Mexican authorities detained him in Veracruz on March 17. Deemed an El Salvadoran citizen with no legal status in Mexico, he was expelled and handed over to U.S. authorities.
A founding member of Ranfla en las Calles, he controlled the gang’s Western Zone in El Salvador.
A related case, U.S. v. Henriquez, et al., previously indicted 14 members of Ranfla Nacional, MS-13’s de facto “Board of Directors”.
The U.S. has submitted formal extradition requests for 11 of them still in El Salvador.
The indictment accuses Roman-Bardales and his co-defendants of terrorist activities, including attacks on El Salvador’s government, law enforcement, and military, using IEDs, grenades, and military-style training camps. MS-13 also engaged in public violence, territorial control, and electoral manipulation.
Beyond El Salvador, MS-13 expanded into Mexico under Roman-Bardales’ direction, forging alliances with cartels and engaging in drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, and human smuggling. The gang also murdered migrants, including suspected 18th Street gang members and defectors.
MS-13’s drug trade funded terrorist activities in El Salvador, using its U.S. network for financial support. Since 2009, the Eastern District of New York has prosecuted hundreds of MS-13 members for more than 80 murders in the region.
Roman-Bardales faces charges of racketeering, narco-terrorism conspiracy, material support to terrorists, and alien smuggling. Judge Joan M. Azrack ordered his detention pending trial in the Eastern District of New York.
If convicted, he faces life in prison or the death penalty.