Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales, MS-13 Terrorism, New York 2024

MS-13 Leader Charged with Terrorist Activities on Long Island

A high-ranking leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, was arraigned on a four-count indictment charging him, along with a dozen other high-ranking MS-13 leaders, with directing the transnational criminal organization’s unlawful activities in the United States, El Salvador, Mexico, and elsewhere over the past two decades.

Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales, also known as Veterano de Tribus, 47, of Ahuachapán, El Salvador, and Veracruz, Mexico, had been a fugitive for nearly three years and 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, California. Roman-Bardales had been located and arrested by Mexican authorities in Veracruz on March 17, and after it was determined that he was an El Salvadoran citizen with no valid status in Mexico, he was expelled from Mexico.

“MS-13 is a terrorist organization and this case reflects the ironclad commitment to putting terrorists behind bars,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Members of MS-13 and similar groups should live in fear knowing that we will hunt them down, prosecute them, and deliver swift American justice for their heinous crimes.”

The defendants, including Roman-Bardales, are charged with directing the transnational criminal organization’s unlawful activities, including terrorism and racketeering. Roman-Bardales and his co-defendants are part of MS-13’s command and control structure, consisting of the Ranfla Nacional, Ranfla en Las Calles, and Ranfla en Los Penales. They exercise significant leadership roles in the organization’s operations in El Salvador, Mexico, the United States, and throughout the world.

Roman-Bardales was himself a founding member of the Ranfla en las Calles, and oversaw the “Western Zone” of MS-13 in El Salvador. In the related case of United States v. Henriquez, et al., a grand jury in the Eastern District of New York previously indicted 14 members of the Ranfla Nacional, who functioned as MS-13’s “Board of Directors.” Formal extradition requests have been submitted by the United States and remain pending for 11 of those defendants who either are or were in custody in El Salvador.

Roman-Bardales is currently being held without bail and is scheduled to return to court on April 15, 2024. The indictment alleges that the defendants have engaged in a litany of violent terrorist activities aimed at influencing the policies of the government of El Salvador (GOES) and at obtaining benefits and concessions from GOES; targeting GOES law enforcement and military officials; employing terrorist tactics such as the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and grenades; operating military-style training camps for firearms and explosives; using public displays of violence to intimidate civilian populations; using violence to obtain and control territory; and manipulating the electoral process in El Salvador.

Defendant: Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales
Criminal Charges: Directing the transnational criminal organization’s unlawful activities, including terrorism and racketeering
City and State: Long Island, New York
Arrest Date: March 18, 2024
Status: Currently being held without bail and scheduled to return to court on April 15, 2024

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