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California’s sanctuary law is under fire yet again after a notorious MS-13 machete-wielding gangster known as “the witch” has been nabbed for the second time in the state after being caught and released during the Biden administration in 2023.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in San Diego have arrested David Antonio Aviles Perez, 35, who is wanted in El Salvador for aggravated murder. He was first arrested and released in Monterey, California, in 2023 on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly swinging a machete at a man.
“ICE arrested this dangerous criminal illegal alien and MS-13 gang member wanted in El Salvador for murder,” Acting Assistant Department of Homeland Secretary (DHS) Lauren Bis wrote in a statement last week.
“Gavin Newsom’s sanctuary policies allowed this gang member to be released from jail after his arrest for assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance, and petty theft.”
David Antonio Aviles Perez is wanted for murder in El Salvador, where prosecutors note he is known as “the witch” and a notorious MS-13 gang member.
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Aviles Perez is being held pending removal to El Salvador, a contrast to his Biden administration release as an illegal alien alleged to have threatened a California man with a machete in 2023.
The case has intensified criticism from federal officials of California’s sanctuary law under Newsom, which limits local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
DHS has called out California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom and his state’s sanctuary policies for its refusal to empower local police officials to work with federal immigration enforcement officials. (Tayfun Coskun/Getty Images)
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“Releasing this gang member back into California neighborhoods put American lives at risk,” Bis’ statement concluded. “Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Mullin, this murderer is off our streets and will soon be out of our country.”
El Salvador had sentenced Aviles Perez, known as “la bruja” (“the witch”), to 20 years in prison for a 2014 gang killing, according to the Salvadoran prosecution’s indictment from December, which reported he was alleged to have “shot the victim in the chest, back, and face” and was a known MS-13 gang member.
Aviles Perez’s criminal violence reportedly continued in California in 2023 after crossing the border at an unknown date. He was alleged to have “swung a machete” at a homeless man at Laguna Grande Park near Monterey State Beach and “hid the machete which was later recovered in the Holiday Inn parking lot,” according to the report.
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He was charged and convicted before being released back onto the streets.
