An alleged senior leader of the MS-13 crime gang who appears on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list was arrested in Mexico on Monday, authorities said.
Francisco Javier Román Bardales — a 47-year-old Salvadoran national wanted in the United States for his alleged involvement in the direction of MS-13 activities in the U.S., Mexico, and El Salvador — was detained on the Teocelo-Baxtla highway in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, federal security authorities said in a statement.
BREAKING: I can now confirm that last night, working with @TheJusticeDept and other interagency partners, the FBI has extradited one of our “Ten Most Wanted” from Mexico — one we believe to be a key senior leader of MS-13, Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales.
He was arrested in…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) March 18, 2025
Personnel with the army, navy, Federal Attorney General’s Office, National Guard and federal Security Ministry were involved in the suspect’s arrest, according to the statement issued by those institutions.
Róman is wanted in the United States on charges of “conspiracy to provide and conceal material support and resources to terrorists; narco-terrorism conspiracy; racketeering conspiracy; and alien smuggling conspiracy,” according to the FBI.
MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, is one of eight criminal organizations designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the United States government last month. The gang was founded by Salvadoran immigrants in the United States in the 1980s.
The Mexican authorities said that the arrest of Román was “the result of international cooperation work.”
They said that as part of bilateral cooperation with the United States and “upon developing lines of inquiry aimed at arresting generators of violence” they became aware that a suspect wanted by the FBI was operating around the area of Baxtla, a small town in the municipality of Teocelo, located south of state capital Xalapa.
As a result of the information obtained, the authorities said that security forces began carrying out “fixed, mobile and discreet” surveillance work aimed at locating Román, known as “El Veterano de Tribus” (The Veteran of Tribes) or simply “El Veterano.”
Consequently, Róman was identified and detained on the Teocelo-Baxtla highway, the statement said.
The authorities said Monday that the suspect would be transferred to Mexico City and subsequently deported to the United States. The deportation, or extradition as the FBI put it, has already happened.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media on Tuesday morning that Román was “being transported within the U.S. as we speak, where he will face American justice.”
“This is a major victory both for our law enforcement partners and for a safer America,” he said.
“Thank you to our brave personnel for executing the mission. And thank you to Mexico’s … [authorities] for their support of the FBI in this investigation and arrest,” Kash said.
The arrest and deportation of Román comes at a time when the United States is pressuring Mexico to do more to combat cartels and stop the flow of fentanyl and other drugs to the U.S. The most notable way in which the U.S. government has been exerting that pressure is via the threat of tariffs on imports from Mexico.
President Claudia Sheinbaum has stressed that Mexico is willing to cooperate with the United States on security issues, but has made it clear that her government will not tolerate any violation of Mexican sovereignty.
Who is Francisco Javier Román Bardales?
According to the FBI, Román was born in the city of Ahuachapán, El Salvador, on Dec. 2, 1977.
“He is alleged to be a senior leader of MS-13,” the FBI says on his wanted page for the suspect.
“Román Bardales has been charged with several offenses for his alleged role in ordering numerous acts of violence against civilians and rival gang members, as well as his role in drug distribution and extortion schemes in the United States and El Salvador,” the FBI said.
“A federal arrest warrant was issued for Román Bardales in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, Central Islip, New York, on September 22, 2022, after he was charged with Conspiracy to Provide and Conceal Material Support and Resources to Terrorists; Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy; Racketeering Conspiracy; and Alien Smuggling Conspiracy,” the FBI said.
It was not immediately clear how long the suspect had been in Mexico, a country he presumably entered from the United States. Citing a legal file on the suspect, the Milenio newspaper reported that Román was sent to Mexico by other MS-13 leaders to liaise with Mexican cartels on behalf of the criminal organization.
He was added to the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list in late February, and as of Tuesday afternoon still appears on it albeit with the word “captured” superimposed on his photograph. U.S. authorities were offering a reward of up to US $250,000 for information leading to his arrest.
The FBI said on social media on Tuesday that the extradition of Román to the United States was “a major victory” and “enhances the safety of communities across America.”
His deportation comes less than three weeks after Mexico extradited 29 significant cartel figures, including notorious drug lord and former FBI “most wanted fugitive” Rafael Caro Quintero to the United States.
At least one other man on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted Fugitives” list — former Canadian Olympian Ryan James Wedding — is believed to be in Mexico. He is wanted in the United States for “allegedly running a transnational drug trafficking network.”
Mexico News Daily
