DOJ moves to drop case against man it called top MS-13 leader. His attorney opposes that.

The Justice Department withdrew its case against a 24-year-old Virginia man it accused of being a top leader of the MS-13 gang just two weeks ago, according to court filings on Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors said in court filings they moved to drop the single felony gun possession charge against Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, who is a Salvadoran national. The filing had no explanation for the reversal, which was issued just after Josue Santos' high-profile arrest in Northern Virginia in late March.

On Wednesday evening, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that Villatoro Santos will now face removal from the country.

Top Trump administration officials had accused Villatoro Santos of leading East Coast operations for MS-13, a transnational gang, and one of the gang's three top leaders in the U.S. Along with Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin held a press conference highlighting his arrest and indicated they'd seek to deport him.

In a filing late Wednesday, Villatoro Santos’ lawyer, Muhammad Elsayed, requested that the court delay ordering a dismissal of the case for at least two weeks.

Elsayed acknowledged the “unusual nature” of a defense lawyer opposing the dismissal of charges against his client. “But these are unusual times,” he said.

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If the judge dismissed the case, Elsayed argued, Villatoro Santos would immediately be transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and subsequently be deported to El Salvador without due process.

Once there, Villatoro Santos would likely be placed in “one of the worst prisons in the world,” Elsayed said, citing migrants sent to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT. Villatoro Santos would have no trial or due process after federal officials called him a top MS-13 leader, Elsayed said.

“The risk of this turning effectively into a life sentence without any due process is very real,” Elsayed said.

On March 27, Trump administration officials announced they led an early morning raid to arrest Villatoro Santos at his family's home.

When agents searched his bedroom – located inside the home's garage – they said they found a 9mm handgun near the bed. Agents also allegedly found three additional firearms, ammunition and two suppressors. Agents also found “indicia of MS-13 association” in his garage bedroom, according to an affidavit.

The dismissal now sits before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lindsey R. Vaala of the Eastern District of Virginia.

If enacted, Villatoro Santos wouldn't be the only one accused of ties to MS-13 who's had charges dropped by the Justice Department.

In March, federal prosecutors dropped terrorism charges against César Humberto López-Larios, who was accused of being a top MS-13 leader based on Long Island. He had been arrested last year, but U.S. officials deported him to El Salvador in March, according to court filings.

CNN reported he was among hundreds of people sent to a notorious mega-prison. Investigators reportedly believed he had information showing corruption of Salvadoran officials with MS-13.