By The Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-24 20:41:51 | Updated at 2026-09-03 11:11:43
1 week ago
The Trump administration failed to convict a high-ranking member of the MS-13 drug gang twice after having extradited him to the U.S. to face a Washington court at the beginning of the president’s second term.
The defendant, Moises “Viejo Santos” Rivera-Luna, who had been charged with racketeering conspiracy, was extradited from Guatemala to the United States. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Rivera-Luna’s extradition in March 2025, saying in part, “the decade-long pursuit of this alleged violent gang member illustrates our office’s resolve to remain focused and bring to justice those who violate the law no matter where they are, no matter how long it takes.”
Guatemala extradites high-ranking MS-13 gang leader to face racketeering charges in U.S. following ICE Washington, D.C., investigation with @VSPPIO and @DCPoliceDept.
🔽 https://t.co/CVRwyWfadx pic.twitter.com/v0mN0vbGCS
DOJ prosecutors allege Rivera-Luna, from a prison cell in El Salvador between 2008 and 2010, used his position in the gang to order MS-13 members in Washington, D.C., to kill multiple gang members who had failed to follow the gang’s code, according to CNN.
Audio was recorded of Rivera-Luna telling an MS-13 member, in Spanish, “You have 13 days to eat chicken,” a phrase one witness testified meant that he had that many days to kill somebody, according to the outlet.
The first trial failed in December after the jury failed to reach a verdict. The DOJ retried Rivera-Luna in April. During the second trial, the jurors agreed on only one of the three charges, leading the defense attorneys to request a partial trial, which the judge quickly denied, CNN reported.
“I’ve done this a long time and haven’t seen one quite like this one,” 40-year veteran Judge Royce Lamberth said near the end of the second trial, CNN reported. (RELATED: How El Salvador Beat The Gang Problem America Still Can’t Control)
"El Viejo Santos" líder histórico de la MS-13 salvadoreña es notificado de solicitud para extradición a Estados Unidos
El 19 de abril de 2022 fue capturado en Mixco con armas de fuego y otros dos mareros salvatruchas salvadoreños. pic.twitter.com/sQ8YAfEMOx
The defense attorney, Christopher Davis, told CNN in April that such cases come with a playbook and that it is “hard to screw up these cases” from the government’s perspective.
However, this case appears to be just one of several losses U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro has suffered recently, having won only half of the eight criminal trials she has taken this year, according to CNN.
Those familiar with the trials told CNN that the trend, in large part, has to do with the jury pool being affected by their personal thoughts on the Trump administration, leaving even top prosecutors struggling to secure convictions for charges that such jurors may view as a political vendetta. (RELATED: Inside CECOT: The World’s Most Dangerous Prison)
Rivera-Luna is set to be retried in mid-September.
