Top gang leaders being sent back to El Salvador were part of a lengthy federal investigation that has amassed evidence of a corrupt pact between the Bukele government and MS-13.

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Officials from both countries have said the gang leaders are being sent back to face justice.

But the Trump administration has not acknowledged another reason Mr. Bukele would want them back: U.S. prosecutors have amassed substantial evidence of a corrupt pact between the Salvadoran government and some high-ranking MS-13 leaders, who they say agreed to drive down violence and bolster Mr. Bukele politically in exchange for cash and perks in jail, a New York Times investigation found.

The deal with El Salvador heralded by Mr. Trump as a crackdown on crime is actually undermining a longstanding U.S. inquiry into the gang, according to multiple people with knowledge of the initiative. Two major ongoing cases against some of the gang’s highest-ranking leaders could be badly damaged, and other defendants could be less likely to cooperate or testify in court, they said.
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The Times investigation found that U.S. officials have had strong indications for years of the troubling relationship between the Bukele administration and MS-13 and its leaders — and had begun scrutinizing Mr. Bukele himself. The findings are based on government documents and interviews with more than 30 people who have knowledge of the Vulcan inquiry or the U.S.-El Salvador relationship, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the ongoing federal investigation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/us/politics/trump-bukele-ms-13-immigrants.html