Machete-wielding MS-13 gangster wanted for murder walks free after Biden-appointed judge releases him: DHS

An MS-13 gang member convicted in a savage execution-style murder is out of federal custody in after a federal judge ordered his immediate release, igniting fury from the Trump administration.

U.S. District Judge ordered the release of David Antonio Aviles Perez, 35, aka "the witch," after finding that immigration officials held him for five months without giving him a bond hearing or determining whether he posed a danger to the public or a flight risk.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused the judge of putting the public in danger by ordering Aviles Perezs release.

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"This radical activist judge has put American lives at risk by releasing a wanted murderer," Mullin said in a statement Saturday.

"This is now the SECOND time this dangerous illegal has been released back onto the streets in California," he added. "Because sanctuary politicians want to play politics from the bench, innocent Americans are in danger."

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The case centers on a brutal 2014 gang killing in El Salvador and a legal fight over the Trump administrations authority to detain immigrants while removal proceedings unfold.

Alvise Perez, identified by Salvadoran prosecutors as an active MS-13 member also known as "La Bruja," or "The Witch," was convicted while outside El Salvador in December 2025 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for aggravated murder.

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Prosecutors said Aviles Perez and another MS-13 member chased a man through a mountainous area in La Unión before fellow gang members forced the victim to stop and kneel.

The victim was held by the shoulders as Aviles Perez and his accomplice approached, prosecutors said.

The gang members then shot the man in the chest, back and face before fleeing. Both defendants were tried and convicted while outside the country.

Aviles Perez entered the U.S. at an unknown date and location, according to DHS.

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He was arrested in Monterey, California, in 2023, after allegedly swinging a machete at a homeless man at Laguna Grande Park near Monterey State Beach. He allegedly hid the weapon before officers recovered it from a nearby Holiday Inn parking lot.

Aviles Perez was charged and convicted after the incident but later released from custody. DHS blamed Californias sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration officials.

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